


A Little Surprise

by seonghwhydoidothis



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Caretaker Junhui, Caretaker Seokmin, Caretaker!Jihoon, Caretaker!Junhui, Caretaker!Seokmin, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Jihoon seems like an asshole just bear with him plz, JunHao - Freeform, Little Minghao, Little Seventeen, Little Soonyoung, Little Space, Little!Minghao, Little!Soonyoung, M/M, Multi, Non Sexual Age Regression, Sonyoung is really stressed :(, Soonhoon - Freeform, caretaker jihoon, minor descriptions of blood, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:41:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27180557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seonghwhydoidothis/pseuds/seonghwhydoidothis
Summary: Soonyoung has been cramming night and day for a dance final, (His fault for starting three days before it was due), but when he slips into little space because of it, Jihoon has to play the impromptu role of caretaker.This work has no sexual elements, this is purely platonic, any sexualization of this work or its concept is not what I intended, I make that very clear.
Relationships: Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi & Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi & Wen Jun Hui | Jun, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi & Xu Ming Hao | The8, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Seokmin | DK, Lee Jihoon | Woozi & Wen Jun Hui | Jun, Lee Jihoon | Woozi & Xu Ming Hao | The8, Lee Jihoon | Woozi/Lee Seokmin | DK, Lee Seokmin | DK & Wen Jun Hui | Jun, Lee Seokmin | DK & Xu Ming Hao | The8, Wen Jun Hui | Jun & Xu Ming Hao | The8, Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 27
Kudos: 103





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first little space au for seventeen, and I really really liked writing it! It's about 19K, a little over, but I'm going to update it over the course of a few weeks. I hope you enjoy, and if anyone actually likes this, I'm thinking of making a request book for littlespace oneshots, for Seventeen and Ateez. If you could let me know in the comments if you'd be interested in that, that would be great! Thank you, enjoy the fic! <3

Jihoon doesn’t like kids. They’re just annoying. _No_ , he doesn’t have games on his phone. (He totally does, but he doesn’t want his phone getting all sticky, nor does he want the little demons to spend all of his in-game currency.) That was another thing, too. Why were children always sticky? Did they secrete some sort of ooze? Jihoon would not partake in any interaction with children until this was solved. He preferred having intellectual conversations, with his friends and family, and his boyfriend, thank you very much, not crooning at a tiny human who didn’t understand who he was or what he was saying. 

“Hey, asshole! Stop hogging the blankets.”

Ah, there was that intellectual boyfriend of Jihoon’s. The younger man groaned, rolling over in their bed and tugging the blanket out from under him. He siphoned half off to Soonyoung, using what little fabric he had left to bundle himself up again. He couldn’t even make himself into a blanket burrito anymore, what was this blasphemy?

Jihoon had half a mind to steal the blankets all over again, because Soonyoung got more of it and that was so unfair, it wasn’t Jihoon’s fault that he was so tiny! Soonyoung’s legs were longer, so he needed more blanket, but then Jihoon had to suffer for it. Ridiculous.

But then he laid a hand on Soonyoung’s waist, to grab the blankets, and Soonyoung shifted in his sleep, sighing and curling further into Jihoon. Jihoon held his breath as Soonyoung burrowed into his chest, nuzzling his face into Jihoon’s collarbone. Jihoon couldn’t steal the blankets from Soonyoung now. Jihoon could just barely see the dark circles under Soonyoung’s eyes from their current position, no doubt from the strenuous schedule that he put himself through day in and day out.

Jihoon knew how hard Soonyoung had been working lately, to figure out a choreography that worked best for his dance final. It was in a mere three days, and Soonyoung spent every waking moment throwing himself time after time into various moves, positions, and sequences. He came home at ungodly hours every day, practically collapsing, and as tough as Jihoon wanted to be, telling Soonyoung that it was his own fault that he hadn’t started prepping for his final until now, he just couldn’t. He couldn’t do anything but tug Soonyoung just a _tiny_ bit closer, letting his eyes slip shut and succumbing to sleep alongside the older man.

\--

Jihoon woke up much less peacefully than he’d fallen asleep, hearing soft sniffles and whimpers coming from the other side of the bed. His eyes widened and he sat bolt upright, squinting against the morning sun that streamed in through the blinds.

“Soonyoung?” Jihoon’s voice was groggy with sleep as the man watched Soonyoung curled up into a ball on his side of the bed, his knees tucked to his chest and his head ducked down.

The man perked up at the mention of his name and he turned, messily wiping the tears from one of his cheeks, “Hoonie!”

Jihoon’s cheeks flared red at the nickname as he spluttered,, “What- I… What’s wrong?”

“Hoonie, ‘m hungry.” Soonyoung slumped forward to face-plant into Jihoon’s lap and the man gasped lightly, hands coming to shove at Soonyoung’s shoulders.

“Soonyoung! What are you _doing_?”

Soonyoung rolled over in Jihoon’s lap, big teary eyes looking up at the man, “Hungry.”

“Soonyoung,” Jihoon lifted the man’s head out of his lap, pushing and shoving at his back until he was sitting upright again across from Jihoon, “Make your own breakfast. It’s Saturday, you always make breakfast anyways. I’m tired,” Jihoon was up _way_ too early, it wasn’t even eleven yet. This was getting ridiculous.

“But,” Soonyoung sniffled, “Can’t!”

“What do you _mean_ you can’t?! Are your arms broken? What is _wrong_ with you-”

“I’m too little!” Soonyoung wailed, burying his face in his hands and once again letting himself fall face-first into Jihoon’s lap. Jihoon frowned, Soonyoung definitely was not too little to use their stove, especially not compared to him. Was this Soonyoung’s idea of a stupid practical joke?

Joke or not, Soonyoung was sobbing into Jihoon’s lap and Jihoon had _no_ idea what to do about this, but before he could try to figure it out, his phone rang.

JIhoon sighed, pressing down on the green button and holding his phone to his ear, “Seokmin? What do you need?”

“I was just wondering when we were gonna..” Jihoon’s classmate cut himself off, “Is that Soonyoung?”

“Just ignore it, he’s being really weird, what do you need?”

“Wait, wait, is Soonyoung little today?”

“ _What_?”

“Is he little?”

“I heard you, I wanted an explanation,” Jihoon rolled his eyes, wildly uncomfortable with the man crying into his lap.

“Wait, has he not told you?”

“ _Told me what_? Seokmin, if you’re not gonna start explaining yourself, I’m just gonna hang up.”

“No, no! I’ll explain, I’ll explain. Um, okay. Put me on speaker, and google ‘Little Space’. Don’t hang up, though.”

Jihoon sighed but complied, wriggling a hand between his lap and Soonyoung’s face, gently clamping it over the man’s mouth to silence his outbursts. Soonyoung quieted down, but then Jihoon felt something wet around his finger, and he peered down with furrowed brows to see his finger in Soonyoung’s mouth. 

Jihoon let out a cry of discontent, “Soonyoung, what the hell?!” as he tore his finger out of the man’s mouth. He did his best to dry his finger off on the bedsheets but he realized that Soonyoung was crying even harder now, practically screaming as tears dripped down his face.

“Jihoon! Just hurry up and google it, you need to know, now.”

“Okay, okay! You know,” Jihoon mused, typing in the search that as he was instructed, “If you wanted me to know this so badly, you could just tell…” Jihoon slowly fell quiet as he read the google search results. 

_**Littlespace** is a mindset in which an adult relaxes into a state of carefree, responsibility-free safety. It may be a developed time in which an adult relives childhood memories, scenarios, or desires that were unachievable in their adolescence. In other cases, it can be a sign of stress, and the little in question will regress to escape from that stress. An adult in littlespace may involve another adult referred to as a caregiver, engage in activities viewed as childish, and some may even participate in adult sexual interaction during their time in littlespace. While in littlespace, the adult is usually, but not always, referred to as an adult baby, little, or middle. A standard that all people interacting and involved in this type of scene is that they are all of legal adult age._

“Jihoon… Please say something.”

Soonyoung’s cries, his poor grammar, his slightly slurred words, his inability to do something as simple as make breakfast, they all made sense. Jihoon’s brows were furrowed as he started comprehending what this meant, and what it would mean, for however long the man was like this.

“Jihoon? Are.. Are you still there?”

“What? Yes!” Jihoon stuttered, switching back to the phone call and taking Seokmin off speaker. He felt Soonyoung’s fists tighten around the material of his sweatpants and he finally placed a tentative hand on the man’s head, brushing gently through his fluffy blonde hair. Soonyoung seemed to take no notice, still crying just as hard.

“Oh, good. Okay, well, um.. I dunno what you want to do, but, if you need stuff for him, I have a bag. I didn’t think you needed any, I thought he would have told you and you guys would have prepared already, but I guess not. I can drop the stuff off at your place, but I can’t stay, so I shouldn’t come in at all. I don’t want him to think that I’m gonna spend the whole day with him, if he sees me there.”

“Hold on, hold on, hold on. Bag of stuff? What stuff? And what do you mean you can’t stay, you’re just gonna leave me alone with him?!”

“Jihoon, do you think kids use the same stuff as adults on a daily basis? I’ve got toys, sippy cups, plastic plates and kiddie silverware, pacifiers, onesies, stuffies, and then stuff for if he’s even younger, like bottles, diapers, and teething toys. A few rattles too, probably.”

Jihoon’s brain was going at two hundred miles per hour, “ _Diapers_?! Seokmin, he’s a grown man!”

“Not now, he isn’t. I don’t know how little he is right now, but it can fluctuate throughout the day, he might slip farther. Ask him how old he is, maybe, but if he’s talking, he’s not a _baby_ baby. It’s best to just let the regression happen, to encourage it, hopefully after he sleeps tonight he’ll be back to his physical age.”

“Lee Seokmin, I am not wiping my boyfriend’s ass.”

“He’s not your boyfriend right now, and yes you are, if it comes to that. He’s a baby, Jihoon, you have to treat him like one. He’s not gonna treat you like his boyfriend, for today, you’re his caregiver. If he wants a bottle, give him a bottle. If he wants to watch cartoons, put on some cartoons. If he wants to eat dino nuggets for dinner, you’d better figure out a way to get some goddamn dino nuggets. I might have some extra, actually.” Seokmin mused.

“Seokmin, I don’t like kids. I’m not good with kids. I can’t deal with kids!”

“Jihoon, do you like Soonyoung?”

“Of course I like Soonyoung, but that doesn’t matter now-”

“Then you’re just gonna have to deal with it. He loves you, and if you reject him while he’s in this state, it’s gonna _really_ hurt. He’s extra sensitive in this state, you need to treat him with just as much respect and love as you do when he’s mentally an adult. To him, nothing has really changed, if you push him away he’s not gonna know why.”

Jihoon stared down at the man-er, child? In his lap, sighing as he continued raking his hands through Soonyoung’s hair. It still wasn’t helping.

“Listen Jihoon, if you’re gonna be an ass about it,” Jihoon was honestly shocked to hear the man swear, “Just give him to me. I’m not gonna leave him with you all day if you’re gonna treat him awfully. I’ll skip my shift, I used to take care of him all the time when we were roommates.”

Jihoon’s eyes stayed locked onto Soonyoung’s head, a sigh escaping his lips when he heard Soonyoung whine, “Hoonie,”

“Well? What’s it gonna be? I need to know now, I need time to figure out what excuse I’m gonna make before I skip work.”

“It’s fine. Leave the bag at the door. I’ll do it.” Jihoon mumbled, cheeks aflame when he heard Seokmin coo.

“I knew you’d break. Have fun today, _Hoonie_.”

“Hey!” Jihoon screeched, but it was no use, Seokmin had already hung up, probably cackling at Jihoon’s expense.

Jihoon tossed his phone aside, steeling himself before hunching over slightly, “Uh, Soonyoung?”

There was no response from the crying man(? Boy? Baby? Little?) and Jihoon sighed, wriggling his hands between Soonyoung’s face and his lap and lifting Soonyoung to sit upright. Soonyoung was gasping for air, sobs wracking his body as tears streamed down his cheeks.

“Soonyoung, um, come here.” Jihoon tugged lightly on Soonyoung’s arms, and the little hastily rushed forward, much too big for Jihoon’s lap. Jihoon probably should have thought twice about that.

“Oh god, okay, um, don’t cry, please?” Jihoon cringed at how awkward he sounded, remembering Seokmin’s earlier advice, “Hey, Soonyoung?”

The little tried humming in response but it came as part of a sob, and Jihoon sighed, “How old are you?”

Soonyoung whined, burying his face in Jihoon’s chest, “Little.”

“Uh,” Jihoon knew he was old enough to talk, but what did that mean? “Um, little enough for a bottle?”

Soonyoung’s attention was now fully on Jihoon and he looked pleadingly at the man, “Baba?”

“You.. You want a bottle?”

“Mhm,” Soonyoung nodded, rubbing his eyes with his fists. Jihoon gently pried the little’s hands away from his eyes, wiping tears off of his cheeks.

“Okay, um, we’ll have bottles soon,” Jihoon cursed himself for mentioning the bottle before he actually had one.

Soonyoung whined, “Baba now!”

Jihoon sensed the temper tantrum coming, saw more tears gathering in Soonyoung’s eyes and he panicked, “No no no no no, uh, before we have a baba,” The word sounded stupid coming from his mouth and he cringed internally, “Let’s, um, watch some cartoons!”

Soonyoung’s eyes shone slightly, “ ‘Toons?”

“Mhm! Yeah, come on, sit here with me.” Jihoon struggled to push Soonyoung out of his lap and scooted back against the headboard, biting back a groan when the little scrambled after him, crawling right back into his lap and crushing Jihoon underneath him.

Jihoon grabbed their remote, switching on the tv that sat on their dresser across from the bed. Soonyoung laid back against Jihoon’s chest, popping a thumb into his mouth as Jihoon queued up a cartoon. Jihoon finally found an episode of whatever cartoon was on at the time, Jihoon didn’t know what it was, but it looked heinous. Jihoon didn’t notice Soonyoung sucking his thumb at all, until the little turned to him to giggle about something on the tv and had to take his thumb out to get his words out properly.

“Ah, Soonyoung, don’t do that,” Jihoon grimaced, taking the little’s hand in his and using the hem of his shirt to wipe it dry. Soonyoung fell silent, all joy wiped from his face as he pouted.

“Why?”

“Because, it’s not sanitary.”

“Why?”

“Because, there’s germs.”

“Why?”

Jihoon opened his mouth to reply but realized that this could go on forever, sighing sharply, “Because, how are you gonna fit a baba in there if your thumb is already inside?”

Soonyoung thought about this for a moment, his brow furrowed as he tried figuring out the answer.

“I.. I can’t.”

“Right. So, if you want a baba, you’ve gotta keep it out.”

“Can I have my baba now?” Soonyoung turned, bracing his hands on Jihoon’s thighs as he kneeled on the bed. Soonyoung had a funny little grin on his face and Jihoon had the strangest urge to squish his cheeks.

“Um, I don’t have the bottle yet. But if you watch the cartoons, the time will go by super fast, and you’ll have it soon!”

Soonyoung frowned slightly but nodded, settling back against Jihoon’s chest. Jihoon was quite proud of the fact that Soonyoung showed no further desire to suck his thumb, but then suddenly _his_ finger was in Soonyoung’s mouth, and somehow, that was even worse.

“Soonyoung! Soonyoung, remember what we said?”

“But there’s no baba yet.” Soonyoung tipped his head back, staring at Jihoon with pleading eyes, while still gripping his hand tightly. 

“But my hands are still dirty-”

“Clean ‘em.” Soonyoung let go of Jihoon’s hands, crawling forwards on the bed to let the man stand up.

“Wait, no, Soonyoung, that’s not-”

“Hoonie, _please_?” Soonyoung’s eyes glossed over with a layer of unshed tears and Jihoon sighed, feeling his resolve weaken. He supposed that letting a (physically) grown man suck on his thumb wasn’t gonna be the most boundary-crossing thing he’d have to do that day, if the diapers that Seokmin mentioned had any truth to them. So, he stood, making his way to the bathroom and scrubbing his hands nearly raw with soap. He was not going to let Soonyoung stick dirty fingers in his mouth.

Soonyoung was entranced by the cartoon on the television when Jihoon slid back behind him on the couch, so Jihoon hoped that the little wouldn’t remember his previous promise. But one of Soonyoung’s hands came down subconsciously to wrap around Jihoon’s, and Jihoon grimaced as Soonyoung tugged it into his mouth. It wasn’t so bad, if Jihoon focused on something else.

Thankfully, Jihoon only had to do it for about five minutes, until there was a thud at the door, and the bell rang. Soonyoung didn’t even notice the disruption over the television, but Jihoon gently pried his hand away from the little.

“Soonyoung, that’s your baba. I’m gonna go fill it, okay?”

Soonyoung sat bolt upright at the word ‘baba’, eyes shining, “Really?”

“Yeah, do you want it warm, or cold?”

“I’m gon’ come too.”

“Oh. Um, okay.” Jihoon stood, traipsing to the door and stopping when Soonyoung made no move to follow him. He stared back at the little on the bed, “Soonyoung? Are you coming?”

“Can’t.”

Jihoon was getting very tired of this lackluster communication, “Why can’t you?”

“Too little.”

Jihoon sighed, padding back over to the bed and helping Soonyoung onto the floor. Soonyoug gripped Jihoon’s hand tightly in his, toddling down the hall alongside his caretaker.

Jihoon made sure that Seokmin was nowhere to be seen before opening the door, leaning outside to grab the giant bag.

Soonyoung’s face lit up at the sight of his possessions, “My toys!”

“Mhm, and these.” Jihoon grabbed a pacifier, a bottle, and a teething ring from the bag, and Soonyoung grabbed the pacifier in no time.

“Wait, but Soonyoung, the bottle-”

“Don’ have it yet. ‘M waitin’ ‘till I do.” Soonyoung mumbled, lips covered by the pastel green plastic.

Jihoon nodded, unscrewing the lid of the bottle and finding a rolled up paper inside. He squinted at the ink on the page, finding that it was directions on how to make a bottle the way Soonyoung liked it, and how often he’d want one.

_‘Jihoon,_

_Soonyoung really likes bottles, even if it’s just to chew on the nipple-’_

Jihoon frowned, was that what it was actually called?

_‘-Usually, you can distract him with a paci, but sometimes he just wants the bottle. Just give it to him, it’s easier than fighting. Don’t give him any more than three bottles a day, one in the morning, one at lunchtime, and one at night. It helps him fall asleep at night, so I’d suggest saving it for the very last minute. To prepare one, just fill it up with milk - any brand is fine - and heat it up in the microwave for 20 seconds. Test it with your finger before you give it to him, tip it sideways, and squeeze the nipple so that you can feel the temperature, he obviously doesn’t like it when it’s too hot. Don’t be lazy and leave milk in the bottles overnight, wash them out as soon as he’s done with them, so that you have extra if an emergency pops up. If he wakes up in the middle of the night, and wants a baba, give him half of one, and then only give him half the next morning, so that he’s not having too much milk._

_Hope that’s enough, if you have any other questions just text me :-)’_

Jihoon went over the instructions in his head once more, all the way full, 20 seconds, test it, then set off to the kitchen. Soonyoung was sitting sprawled out over the floor with toy cars in his hands, rolling them up and down the part of the doorframe that he could reach. Jihoon busied himself with making the bottle, then heating it up, and the tell-tale beeping of the microwave made Soonyoung’s eyes widen. He scrambled to his feet, spitting his pacifier out and letting it fall to the floor, stumbling over to Jihoon and grabbing the man’s arm with both of his hands.

“Baba?”

Jihoon nodded, humming in confirmation as he grabbed the microwave door handle, wrenching it open. Soonyoung’s face lit up when he saw what was inside, his eyes scrunching into little crescents as his chubby cheeks squished into a smile, “Baba!”

Soonyoung reached for the bottle but Jihoon quickly surged forward, grabbing it before the little could. Soonyoung’s brows furrowed and he looked as if he was about to cry, but Jihoon quickly caught his mistake and righted himself.

“Hold on, I just need to make sure it’s not too hot.”

Soonyoung watched intently as Jihoon tested the temperature of the milk, and when it was deemed safe, Jihoon handed the bottle off to the little. Soonyoung wrapped one hand around the length of the bottle, using the other to grab Jihoon’s hand and tug him out of the kitchen.

“Wait! Wait, wait, Soonyoung, stop! Soonyoung, where are we going?”

“ ‘Toons!”

“Ah, okay, you can watch more cartoons, go ahead.”

Soonyoung whined from somewhere in his throat and tugged once more on Jihoon’s hand.

“Soonyoung, why can’t you-”

“Hoonie, _please!_ ”

Jihoon sighed in defeat, letting Soonyoung drag him back down the hall to their bedroom. Soonyoung kneeled on the bed, sitting back on his heels and waiting for Jihoon to sit down before he draped himself across Jihoon’s lap. Jihoon’s eyes widened and he froze as Soonyoung finally settled sideways against his chest, one hand playing with Jihoon’s fingers and the other wrapped tightly around the bottle.

The cartoon was still playing, and Jihoon wanted so badly to chuck the remote at the television, break it so that the stupid brightly-colored characters would shut up and stop singing about friendship, or togetherness, or candy, or whatever the hell they were on about, but the look in Soonyoung’s eyes told Jihoon that the little was completely enchanted.

True to Seokmin’s word, Soonyoung finished the bottle but insisted on keeping it with him, continuing to suck and teethe on the nipple. Jihoon wasn’t really sure why, but it kept Soonyoung from shoving anyone’s fingers in his mouth, so he let it happen. Finally, the cartoons ended and the channel switched to a sitcom, one that definitely did not do the same thing that the cartoons did for Soonyoung. The little frowned, turning to sit in front of Jihoon with a pout on his face.

“Hoonie, can we play?”

Jihoon’s ‘I hate kids’ alarm went off in his head, “Um, what do you want to play?”

“Dress-up.” Soonyoung grinned.

Well, it wasn’t as bad as Jihoon had imagined. He wouldn’t have to animate a stupid action figure, or make engine sounds with hotwheels that they were racing. Dress-up sounded simple enough. Right?


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter, this chapter might be my favorite out of them all aaa Soonyoung is so cute :)

Wrong. Oh, Jihoon was so, so wrong. Within ten minutes their entire closet was torn apart, leaving nothing folded neatly in drawers or hung up on shelves. Dress shirts and ties were strewn everywhere, (one tie was hanging from the ceiling fan, Jihoon is not sure how that one got there), and shoes litter the carpet and make it impossible for Jihoon not to fall and break his neck when he walks across the room. But, some tiny part of Jihoon that the rest of him would never admit was there, had to admit that Soonyoung looked absolutely adorable in the outfit that he’d taken a liking to. He’d found a pair of his overalls in the closet, and a black-and-white striped t-shirt that had sleeves that reached slightly past his hands. He looked like a toddler, and Jihoon figured that that’s exactly what he was. He presumed that Soonyoung was currently about 2 years old, because he had a limited range of speech, and still wanted bottles, but he did utilise some speech, and, thank god, did not need to use diapers. 

Soonyoung was not phased at all by the colossal mess he’d just made, sitting in the middle of a pile of clothes and giggling, “Hoonie, Hoonie, you dress up too!”

Jihoon froze, halfway bent over and picking up a shirt to hang it back in the closet. He couldn’t dress up. He was comfy in his pajamas, he was not going to let a two year old pick out his outfit for the day.

“Soonyoung… Let’s just stay in these outfits, yeah?”

“No!”

“ _Soonyoung_ -”

“No, Hoonie dress up!” Soonyoung grabbed a bright blue sweater that was discarded behind him on the floor, brandishing it in his fist towards Jihoon. Jihoon’s nose scrunched slightly at the color, he was gonna go blind wearing that, but took it from the little anyways.

“Soonyoung, don’t you think I need some pants too?”

Soonyoung thought for a moment, humming before he spoke, “No pants.”

Jihoon snorted, “Soonyoung, I have to wear pants.”

“No Hoonie, no pants.”

Jihoon sighed, grabbing a pair of short shorts that would fall under the hem of the sweater. He was not walking around with his ass out all day. 

He slipped into the closet to change, hiding the shorts from Soonyoung’s sight and making sure that they were concealed under the sweater before he came back out. Soonyoung clapped from the floor, the overalls on his chest that no one had buttoned yet falling forwards and into his lap.

Jihoon bent down before Soonyoung, reaching behind the little to grab the strap of his overalls, then snapping the button in place. Soonyoung’s eyes widened at the snapping noise and he paid rapt attention to Jihoon when the man grabbed the other denim strap. 

Jihoon bit back a smile, hooking the button through the wire clasp and tugging on it to snap it into place. Soonyoung gasped, clapping once more and reaching for the straps at his chest. He was a quick learner, pushing the metal clasp downwards to free the button, then hooking it back in again and snapping it tight. This was done a few more times before Jihoon realized that he’d made a terrible mistake, he’d given a toddler a new way to make an annoying noise, and there was no limit to this noise.

“ _So_ , Soonyoung,” The button had been snapped a total of twelve times now, and if Soonyoung made it to twenty Jihoon was going to combust, “What should we do now?”

Soonyoung thought for a moment, his tongue coming and poking out from between his lips as he did so. Jihoon let out a soft laugh, and Soonyoung’s concentration went right out the window, now all the little could do was grin at his Hoonie.

“Can we color?”

“Um,” Jihoon knew damn well he didn’t have any coloring books, and there was even less of a chance of him having crayons, “Soonyoung, I’m sorry, I don’t think we can. I don’t have anything to color with.”

“I do!” Soonyoung was practically glowing with pride, “In my bag! I have crayons,” The little began holding up fingers for each item he was listing, “Markers, pencils, and coloring books!”

“Wow, really?” Jihoon reacted without thinking, taking a moment to reflect on his knee-jerk feigned enthusiasm. He was really getting into this, wasn’t he?

“Mhm! All in the bag.” Soonyoung grinned, clumsily getting to his feet. He stumbled forwards, into the arms that Jihoon had thrust out to catch the wobbly little with, giggling as he toppled into Jihoon’s chest. Jihoon stumbled backwards slightly, and he was lucky that his calves were so goddamn strong, or else they both would have tumbled to the floor. 

Jihoon barely managed to catch Soonyoung, laughing nervously as he got the little back on his feet. Soonyoung apparently was quite eager to test the strength of Jihoon’s legs, because the little’s own legs wrapped around the man’s waist as his arms would around Jihoon’s neck.

Jihoon grunted, hands coming to catch Soonyoung from below before the little could fall to the floor. Soonyoung seemed very happy with this new development, resting his head on Jihoon’s shoulder with a soft smile.

Jihoon felt his legs aching, mentally promising himself to push himself _way_ harder the next time he worked out. Jihoon barely made it to the bed without collapsing, dropping Soonyoung onto the mattress. The little cried out in protest, and his arms stayed tightly woven around Jihoon’s neck, so Jihoon nearly face-planted into the mattress, barely able to catch himself.

“Soonyoung, I need you to let go now.”

“No! No, Hoonie, up!”

“Soonyoung, I am not that strong-”

“Up! Up, up, Hoonie, up!”

“Soonyoung,” Jihoon struggled to untangle the little’s arms from around his neck, “I can’t carry you. I’m sorry, you just have to walk.”

Soonyoung began a chorus of, “No, no, no, no, no!”s, and Jihoon was slowly starting to panic, his legs could not take that again, but what the hell else was he supposed to do?

“Soonyoung, please, stop crying, we can walk together into the living room, then we’ll color, yeah?”

“No! No, no, no, no, no! No!”

Jihoon watched as the first tear slid down Soonyoung’s cheek and he had the intense urge to swear, this was not going well. He had to get Soonyoung to stop crying, but how?

The pacifier.

It was still laying on the floor in the living room, right? No one had moved it since. Jihoon let go of Soonyoung’s hands, sprinting into the living room and spotting the green plastic discarded by the door. He was halfway back to the bedroom where he could hear Soonyoung sobbing, when he saw that there was lint, or dust, or dirt, or whatever the hell was on the doormat, coating the rubber, and Jihoon groaned, nearly tripping over his own feet to get to the sink. He washed the pacifier as fast as he could, getting more and more desperate each time Soonyoung screamed for him. 

Finally, the pacifier was clean, and Jihoon raced back into the bedroom, heart cracking slightly when he saw Soonyoung face-down on the bed, screaming into the blankets.

Jihoon rushed forwards, gripping the white plastic ring of the pacifier tightly in his fist and using his other hand to turn Soonyoung over in the bed. The little’s face was streaked with tears, new ones falling every second.

“Hey, hey, Soonyoung, it’s okay, you’re okay, look, here! Here’s a pacifier!” Jihoon popped the rubber end into Soonyoung’s mouth, watching with bated breath as the little was quiet for a moment, the spit out the pacifier and continued wailing. 

“No no no, Soonyoung, come here,” Jihoon rambled, gripping the little by the shoulders and prying him up off the bed. Soonyoung repaid this favor by resting his head on Jihoon’s shoulder, mouth _right_ next to the man’s ear as Soonyoung continued screaming. Jihoon winced, letting Soonyoung grab onto his sweater in his fists.

Jihoon crawled onto the bed, once again letting Soonyoung squish him by sitting in his lap. The little let Jihoon control him completely, going limp and flopping onto Jihoon’s chest so that if Jihoon wanted to move him, he’d have to do it himself.

“Soonyoung, sweetheart,” Jihoon hated to admit that he was nearly on the verge of tears himself, “It’s okay. Stop crying, we’ll go color, remember?”

“No!” Soonyoung’s voice was raw from screaming and Jihoon winced, repositioning the little so that Soonyoung’s face was squished against his chest.

“Okay, what do I do for you, tell me what you want me to do.”

Soonyoung gulped a sob down, prying his swollen red eyes open, “Wan’ baba.”

Jihoon felt his stomach twist in anxiety, “Sweetheart, you just had a baba. You want another one?”

“Yes!” Soonyoung wailed, burying his face in Jihoon’s chest. Jihoon frantically tried recalling what Seokmin had said in his note, _No more than three bottles a day, one per mealtime_. If he split Soonyoung’s afternoon bottle in half, would that be okay? He didn’t want the little to have a tummy full of nothing but milk, but he also didn’t want Soonyoung to sob for the whole day. 

“Okay, okay, if you come with me, I’ll get you a baba. Does that sound good?”

“Mhm,” Soonyoung sniffled, wiping his eyes with his fists. Jihoon tried putting Soonyoung down but the little let out the beginning of a scream and Jihoon rushed back to grip him around the waist. That wasn’t happening again.

“Okay, how about I give you a piggy back ride? Does that sound fun?”

Soonyoung burrowed into Jihoon’s chest, “No, up!”

“But I can-”

“Up, Hoonie, please!”

Jihoon bit his lip in anticipation, bracing himself and then using all of his strength to hoist Soonyoung off of the bed and into his arms. Soonyoung paid no mind to the way that Jihoon was on the verge of toppling over, burrowing his face into Jihoon’s neck as the man carried him out to the kitchen.

“Okay, Soonyoung, I have to put you down to make your baba, just on the counter, okay? Just for a few seconds.”

Soonyoung looked like he wanted to throw a fit but his baba was on the line so he let Jihoon set him on the counter, watching with anticipation as the man prepared a half of a bottle. Soonyoung frowned when the milk only measured halfway up the bottle, frowning and pointing at the plastic bottle.

“Hoonie, more.”

“No Soonyoung, I’m saving the other part for you for lunch, okay? So in a few hours, you can have _another_ baba, you can have two instead of just one before bed. That sounds good, right?”

Soonyoung’s brows furrowed but he nodded, knowing that two babas had to be better than just one, right? Jihoon sighed in relief at the lack of complaints, grabbing the bottle from where it sat in the microwave and testing the temperature before handing it to Soonyoung. 

“Hoonie, nap.”

“Hm?”

“Nap, Hoonie, nap please,” Soonyoung babbled, clutching the bottle tight to his chest and reaching out for Jihoon with his other hand. Jihoon was barely able to contain himself enough to not coo at the little, which honestly scared him. He reluctantly picked Soonyoung up again, vowing that he was never skipping leg day again as he carted Soonyoung back to their bedroom.

The little clutched Jihoon’s sweater tightly as Jihoon laid back on the bed, snuggling up to the man’s side and nursing on his bottle. Jihoon watched as Soonyoung’s eyes slowly slipped closed and the bottle finally fell from the little’s hands, discarded a quarter of the way full with milk. 

Silence finally settled over Jihoon and Soonyoung’s apartment and Jihoon sighed in relief, letting his eyes shut for a few brief seconds before wriggling his way out from practically under Soonyoung. He had a _lot_ to clean up.

\--

Soonyoung’s eyes blinked open wearily and he felt so, so cold, he was alone in a big bed with no one there to stay beside him. He felt wet too, he needed a change. A soft whine came from his throat and he wanted to get up and go into the living room, but he was too little! He needed his Hoonie’s help, where was Hoonie?

\--

_JH: Okay Seokmin, help._

_SM: Oh no, did something happen? Is he okay?_

_JH: he’s fine_

_JH: I think_

_JH: He just keeps crying, and sometimes he speaks relatively fluently, but then sometimes all he can say is up, baba, nap, no, please, easy stuff like that. And I don’t know what to do, is that bad? Why isn’t he just speaking at one level?_

_SM: It just sounds like he’s regressing more and more, it’s really nothing to worry about. Mental age fluctuates throughout the day, but he usually slips further backwards when he’s upset, or when he goes down for a nap. Sometimes he wakes up even younger than he went to sleep, especially if he hasn’t been getting much sleep lately. A full night’s sleep might be enough rest to pull him out of it though, but we won’t know until tomorrow. Is he napping now?_

_JH: Yeah, he cried pretty hard for a while. He’s so goddamn heavy and he thinks he’s tiny so he keeps asking me to carry him and then when I tell him I can’t he throws a fit_

_SM: XD Yeah you’d better start working out again, we all know you’ve been skipping :/_

_JH: Last time I ask you for help_

_SM: You’re weak, Hoonie_

_JH: STFU_

_SM: HEHEHEHE_

Jihoon chucked his phone onto the couch, hearing it land with a dull _thud_ and hoping that nothing had cracked. He really did not need to be stranded right now. Jihoon had finally managed to clean up his bedroom and even had time afterwards to get the living room straightened out, the toy cars were no longer spread across the floor from when Soonyoung had been waiting for his bottle, and a coloring book had been placed neatly on the coffee table, open to a picture of a flower with a smiley face. Crayons, markers, and colored pencils were laid out on the table beside the coloring book, and now all Jihoon had to do was wait. 

He grabbed his phone from where it had landed nearly between the couch cushions, intent on scrolling through whatever mind-numbing social media app that he could click on first. He got only a few posts down before he heard a soft whine come from the bedroom, and Jihoon froze, waiting to see if anymore came after it.

When Jihoon focused on the sound coming from the bedroom, he realized that there was a soft, steady stream of cries flowing. He jumped to his feet, shoving his phone in his pocket and racing back to the bedroom. He found Soonyoung on the bed, still covered by the blanket that he’d draped over the little when he’d left, but just barely over the legs. 

“Ah, Soonyoung, did you have a good nap?”

Soonyoung said nothing, only rolling over onto his stomach and then raising himself to his hands and knees. He made his way over to the edge of the bed, sitting back on his heels and reaching out for Jihoon with both hands, a pout on his face and tears streaked down his cheeks.

Jihoon elected to keep the little on the bed, pulling him into a tight hug rather than lifting him, and when his arms wrapped around Soonyoung’s back, he felt something wet. He looked down at the sheets, steeling himself when he realized that he’d need to start putting Soonyoung in diapers. The sheets needed to be washed so Jihoon hoisted Soonyoung up into his arms, cringing as he felt just how much of the overalls were stained. Soonyoung continued letting out half-hearted whines and whimpers, resting his head on Jihoon’s shoulder and tangling one hand in the man’s sweater. Jihoon carted Soonyoung to the bathroom, sitting the little on the lid of the toilet.

“We’re gonna run a bath, okay?” Jihoon knew that big Soonyoung hadn’t washed his hair in days anyways, the stress of his projects preventing him from taking care of himself. It was the least he could do.

Soonyoung sat quietly on the lid of the toilet but he rubbed at his eyes every few seconds, either to wipe tears away or rub the sleep out of them. Jihoon quickly found a rubber ducky that Soonyoung had gotten for him as a joke this past christmas, remembering the way that Soonyoung had cackled when Jihoon had opened the box.

Jihoon tossed the toy into the tub, squirting in some bubble bath and letting the tub fill. He quickly realized that he was trapped, he needed clothes for Soonyoung but after the little got in the bath he’d have to stay in the bathroom to keep Soonyoung from drowning. Jihoon cupped Soonyoung’s cheek quickly, lifting the little’s eyes to meet his own.

“I’ll be right back, okay? Gonna get some clothes for you.”

Soonyoung didn’t seem to recognize any of the words that Jihoon said, nor did he seem to understand them, so Jihoon ducked out of the bathroom as quickly as he could and grabbed the bag that was still sitting by the door, running back to the bathroom and praying that Soonyoung hadn’t managed to drown himself.

The little was, in fact, still alive, happily spinning the roll of toilet paper that hung beside where he sat. Thankfully, he spun it so that the paper stayed wrapped around the roll, and didn’t come careening off. Jihoon was glad.

Jihoon dug through the bag that Seokmin had sent him, finding a pastel green striped onesie, with a purple octopus on the butt. Jihoon bit back a smile at the adorable outfit, laying it out on the counter for when he’d get Soonyoung out of the bath, along with a diaper.

“Okay Soonyoung,” The little looked up at Jihoon when the man said his name, big shiny eyes gazing at him adoringly, “Are you ready for a bath?”

Jihoon pointed to the bathtub that was full of soapy water, bubbles piled high within the confines of the ceramic. Soonyoung saw the ducky inside, clapping and squealing with joy. Jihoon chuckled, reaching forward to unbutton the little’s overalls and slip off the shirt that was underneath the straps. Soonyoung lifted his arms so that Jihoon could slide the shirt over his head, blinking rapidly as his head popped out of the neck of the shirt. Jihoon smiled, helping the little stand, seeing how shaky the (probably) baby’s legs were, how easily Soonyoung let them bend to send him toppling to the floor, had Jihoon not been holding him. 

Jihoon got the dirty overalls off of Soonyoung, tossing them out of the bathroom and onto the bed where the soiled sheets still laid. He’d wash everything later. He helped Soonyoung step into the tub, gently unhooking the little’s hands from his sweater when Soonyoung looked as though he wanted to pull Jihoon in.

“Okay, I’m gonna wash your hair. I need to get your hair wet first, can you close your eyes for me?”

Jihoon reached behind him to grab the cup that he used for rinsing after brushing his teeth, dunking it under the water and bringing it up to Soonyoung’s head. The little looked at it curiously, but showed no intent on closing his eyes, like Jihoon had asked. Jihoon supposed that baby Soonyoung just hadn’t understood him.

“Okay, Soonyoung, come here, I’m gonna cover your eyes, okay?” Jihoon kept a steady stream of consciousness going as he worked, not wanting Soonyoung to get bored and fling water everywhere, or start crying. The little did neither, merely scrunching his nose as water cascaded down his head and narrowly avoided his eyes, which Jihoon’s hand was in place to protect. 

Once Soonyoung’s hair was wet, Jihoon grabbed the man’s shampoo, squirting a tiny bit into his hand and gently lathering it into the little’s hair. Jihoon was quick to stop any suds from dripping into Soonyoung’s eyes as the little played contently with the ducky, squirting water from its beak at the wall of the tub and then going right back in for another fill. Jihoon cupped his hand over Soonyoung’s eyes once more as he washed the soap out from the little’s hair, cringing when some bubbles slid below his hand and dipped between Soonyoung’s lips. The little spluttered at the bitter taste, grabbing at Jihoon’s hand that was still hovering over his eyes.

Jihoon dunked his second hand under the water, washing the shampoo off of it and grabbing one of the towels that he’d set out beside the tub. He swiftly dried Soonyoung’s face, leaving no bubbles in sight besides the ones floating in the water. The little grinned at Jihoon before continuing to play with the rubber ducky, babbling nonsense at Jihoon from time to time.

Jihoon managed to wash Soonyoung off, deciding that conditioner would be too much trouble with a squirmy baby. Soonyoung dipped a hand into the bubbles, eyes growing wide when one popped and spat bubble solution on his nose. Jihoon chuckled, tapping Soonyoung’s nose and swiping the bubbles off at the same time. Soonyoung squealed at the unwarranted attack, grabbing Jihoon’s hand and tugging the man’s pointer finger into his mouth.

“Ah, Soonyoung, no no,” Jihoon chided the little lightly, pulling his hand away and letting it rest at his side. Soonyoung had lots to say about this, flapping his arms up and down slightly while babbling angrily. Jihoon squealed as some of the water from the bath came up to splash him in the face, and Soonyoung giggled, sending another wave of water over the side of the tub.

“Hey! You little-” Jihoon ducked a hand under the water and flicked some of it up at Soonyoung, who giggled and slapped his hands down onto the surface of the water, sending it splashing everywhere. Jihoon spluttered when water hit his face, plunging his hands down into the tub and covering Soonyoung with water in a splash that got even his own clothes wet.

Soonyoung shrieked, clapping and trying to grab fistfuls of water to throw at the man. Jihoon laughed at the little’s misconception, cupping a hand under the water and slowly bringing it above the surface to show Soonyoung how to properly hold water. 

This was a mistake, as Soonyoung used this new information to fling water at Jihoon, soaking the man’s clean hair in dirty bath water.

Jihoon gasped, looking down at the sweater hanging off of his chest, now soaked with water. It was ugly anyways. Soonyoung frowned for a moment, worried that Jihoon was upset with him, but then Jihoon was grabbing Soonyoung by the shoulders, leaning in to press a kiss to the little’s cheek. Soonyoung screeched, Jihoon’s wet hair and face getting him wet again but neither cared, a mess of giggles and shoves until there was barely any water left in the bath, all soaked into Jihoon’s clothes or splattered across the floor.

“Okay Soonyoung,” Jihoon looked down at the floor, dragging his fingers through a puddle of water, “I think it’s time to get out.”

“Out!” The little’s pronunciation wasn’t perfect, but Jihoon nodded anyway.

“Yes! Out, and into some dry clothes.”

Soonyoung got onto his knees in the bath and eagerly reached for Jihoon when the man came to wrap him in a towel. Thankfully, the towels had been saved from the splashing, they were balanced on the counter and hadn’t gotten wet. Jihoon wrapped Soonyoung in the towel, bracing himself and lifting the little out of the bath. He staggered back to sit on the lid of the toilet, squeezing Soonyoung tightly from outside the towel and drying off the water dripping down the little’s arms. Jihoon cringed as excess water that wasn’t able to soak into the towel soaked into his shorts instead, but really, he couldn’t get much wetter anyways, so it didn’t matter. 

Soonyoung hummed and cooed at Jihoon as the man dried him off, babbling nonsense when Jihoon reached up and dried the little’s face off. Jihoon wrapped Soonyoung up in a new, dry towel, lugging him over to the bed and laying him on the sheets, where they were still clean. Jihoon prayed that Soonyoung wouldn’t do anything until the man could get his diaper on, he really didn’t need more of a mess.

Thankfully, Jihoon made it over in time, awkwardly sliding a hand under Soonyoung’s thighs and lifting the little’s lower half off of the bed. Soonyoung cooed, gurgling and reaching for Jihoon’s face as the man hovered over him, sliding a diaper underneath him and setting his legs back down.

Jihoon had never put a diaper on anyone, much less a physically grown man, but he found that it was rather self-explanatory, little sticky tabs on the side that hooked around to the front to secure it in its place. Once Soonyoung’s diaper was on Jihoon ducked back into the bathroom, grabbing the onesie and approaching the little on the bed with it.

“Okay, Soonyoung? Let’s get you dressed.”

Jihoon slid Soonyoung’s feet into the feet of the onesie, finding that it was rather hard to dress a squirming little. Soonyoung tried reaching for the fabric that adorned his feet and Jihoon nearly got kicked in the face but he caught Soonyoung’s foot just in time, pushing it back down to the mattress.

Jihoon wriggled the fabric under Soonyoung’s ass, face hovering over the little’s own as he did so. Soonyoung reached out for Jihoon with both hands, grabbing Jihoon’s cheeks and squishing them. Jihoon squeezed his eyes shut, peering at Soonyoung when the little finally let go and grinning down at him.

Soonyoung squealed, poking a finger into Jihoon’s cheek and kicking his legs slightly in excitement. Jihoon giggled, leaning down to kiss Soonyoung’s forehead and humming when the little caught him on the way back up, holding him in place and pulling himself up to press a sloppy baby kiss to Jihoon’s chin. Jihoon froze for a moment, but ultimately, his soft side won, and he pinched Soonyoung’s cheek lightly, helping the little sit up so that he could slip the rest of the onesie on him.

Soonyoung watched Jihoon zip up the onesie once his hands had been shoved through the arm holes, clapping when Jihoon buttoned the tiny flap at the top and he was fully dressed. Jihoon slipped off his wet clothes, throwing on a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved button up shirt, sliding a hoodie on over the top. Soonyoung held tightly to Jihoon’s hand, standing on wobbly legs and waddling to the door, Jihoon in tow.

Soonyoung went as fast as he could all the way into the living room, squealing and pointing with his free hand when he saw the coloring book laid out. Jihoon grinned, leading the little over to the coffee table and sitting on the floor.

Soonyoung didn’t even bother with the floor, instead, crawling right into Jihoon’s lap, making the man’s eyes widen in slight shock. Soonyoung picked up a crayon in his fist, slapping it down onto the paper and making a messy line through the flower’s face.

Soonyoung turned around to face Jihoon as best he could, holding up the crayon in one hand and pointing to his artwork with the other. Jihoon gasped, praising the little for his fine art skills and watching with a soft smile as Soonyoung continued scribbling on the coloring page. Jihoon’s legs were shot to hell, squished, strained, and just tired overall, but he wasn’t going to do anything about it.

Soonyoung forcefully uncapped a marker and Jihoon’s nerves spiked, knowing that crayon did nowhere near as much damage as marker did in nearly any situation. He watched Soonyoung carefully, but he wasn’t fast enough when the little turned around, bringing the marker up to draw a stripe across Jihoon’s cheek.

Jihoon gasped, wiping a hand across his cheek and bringing it down to see that there was no ink that had rubbed off. It was going to be hard to remove.

“Soonyoung, not on me, just on the paper.”

Soonyoung turned his hand to hold the marker tantalizingly over his own face, and Jihoon shook his head, “Just the paper.”

Soonyoung giggled, repositioning the crayon over the table now. 

“Hey! That’s not the paper.” Jihoon teased, pinching Soonyoung’s side lightly. Soonyoung squealed, targeting the carpet next as he waited for Jihoon to stop him.

“Hey!” Jihoon grabbed Soonyoung by the sides, tickling the little until Soonyoung was squirming in his place, heart warming at the giggles that filled the living room. Soonyoung flopped back into Jihoon’s chest trying to escape from the attack and Jihoon finally stopped, wrapping his arms around Soonyoung’s middle and laying back against the front of the couch. 

Jihoon’s eyes drifted to his phone and he clicked the lock button, checking the time and seeing that it was almost one o’clock. He should probably give Soonyoung some lunch.

Soonyoung’s eyes widened when he saw Jihoon’s phone and he cooed, reaching for it with both hands. Jihoon quickly tossed it behind him, patting Soonyoung’s side and ushering the little out of his lap.

“Let’s have some lunch, yeah?”


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! Idrk if anyone is enjoying this story but I'm gonna finish updating anyways lmao ty for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Jihoon made his way into the kitchen, Soonyoung shakily standing and toddling after him. Soonyoung joined Jihoon in front of the fridge, pointing eagerly at a tub of blueberries.

“Oh, do you want some of these?” Jihoon grabbed the package, snapping it open and holding a blueberry out to Soonyoung. The little squealed and took the blueberry from Jihoon, chewing happily and reaching for the container.

“Oh, wait, let’s get something else too.” Jihoon set the package of berries on the counter behind him, holding Soonyoung’s hand so that the little wouldn’t waddle over to eat anymore of them while Jihoon was trying to figure out what the hell to feed a baby.

Jihoon felt a soft tug on his hand and he turned to see Soonyoung trying to pull him back to the bedroom.

“Where are we going?”

Soonyoung only whined, pulling Jihoon even harder until the man finally let up and followed Soonyoung back to the bedroom. Soonyoung made his way over to his bag of stuff that was still laying on the bed, digging through it and haphazardly flinging what he didn’t need behind him.

Jihoon moved to stand in front of Soonyoung when he got hit in the face with a package of baby wipes, waiting confusedly until Soonyoung pulled out a jar of what looked like orange mush, presenting it proudly to Jihoon.

“Oh, you found baby food! Good job, Soonyoung.” Jihoon took the jar from the little and grabbed a baby spoon and a bib too, helping Soonyoung off of the bed and reminding himself to change the sheets whenever he could. Jihoon realized that he didn’t have a high chair for Soonyoung, grimacing as he realized that he’d probably need to sit Soonyoung at the table.

“Okay come here, let’s sit down.” Jihoon grabbed the blueberries from the counter, turning around to find Soonyoung standing eagerly behind him. Jihoon chuckled, taking the little’s hand and leading him back to the table. Jihoon took the bib and slid it around Soonyoung’s neck, pressing the two little velcro pads together so that no carrots would get on Soonyoung’s onesie. Soonyoung sat forward and reached for the jar when Jihoon uncapped it, and the man had to push Soonyoung to sit back up against the chair.

Jihoon scooped up some of the carrots, (they looked like puke), and held the spoon out. Soonyoung excitedly opened his mouth, lunging forward and letting Jihoon feed him. Jihoon ended up getting more of the carrots on Soonyoung’s bib than he did in the little’s mouth, but the blueberries made up for it. Soonyoung ate roughly a handful of blueberries and half of the jar of carrots before he began to shake his head, pushing the food away when it was offered to him.

“Are you full?”

Soonyoung stood, some carrot from the bib dangerously close to dripping off onto the floor. Jihoon reached forward to grab the bib, folding the mess inside and leaving it on the table. Soonyoung tugged on the hem of Jihoon’s shirt and Jihoon knew exactly what was coming.

“Baba?”

Jihoon sighed, nodding and taking Soonyoung’s hand. He led Soonyoung back to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle that he’d washed earlier when Soonyoung was asleep. He poured milk halfway up the bottle, sticking it in the microwave and biting his cheek to contain a smile when Soonyoung wrapped him in a loose hug. He tugged the little close, his cheek against the soft material of Soonyoung’s onesie. The microwave beeped and Soonyoung cheered, eagerly accepting the bottle from Jihoon once the temperature had been checked.

Five minutes later and they were on the couch, Soonyoung resting sideways against Jihoon’s chest and watching whatever cartoon was on the television intently. Every few minutes Soonyoung would point at the television, babbling to Jihoon excitedly. 

Before long the bottle was empty and Soonyoung let it roll out of his hands and onto the floor. Jihoon watched it roll halfway under a chair, knowing that he needed to remember that it was there or the milk would rot in the bottle for god knows how long. 

Jihoon knew that he couldn’t entertain Soonyoung for much longer with just the things in the bag that Seokmin had dropped off. He was gonna have to take Soonyoung out of the house. He wasn’t looking forward to it.

Things could go terribly wrong. Someone could see Soonyoung and publicly shame the little. Soonyoung could have a tantrum in public and Jihoon wouldn’t have a bottle to pacify him with (or a pacifier, for that matter.) Jihoon supposed he could bring a pacifier with him, but there was a 99% chance that they’d lose it and Jihoon wasn’t sure if Soonyoung had any others in the bag. 

And then, where did Soonyoung even want to go?

“Soonyoung,” Jihoon hesitated, “would you like me to take you to the park?” There was a park just by Jihoon’s college campus and there was a very significant lack of children going to said park. Jihoon supposed that if he dressed Soonyoung in slightly normal clothes, it would just look normal. Well, normal for big Soonyoung.

Soonyoung gasped lightly, looking at Jihoon with shining eyes, “Park?”

“You want to go to the park?”

“Yes!” Soonyoung cheered, clapping excitedly. Jihoon giggled, nodding and shooing the little off of his lap. Soonyoung stood and eagerly followed Jihoon back to the bedroom where Jihoon stripped the sheets, gathering all of their wet clothes and towels and everything else that needed to be washed, bundling them up together and hauling them out to the laundry room

Jihoon watched with a soft smile as Soonyoung’s eyes widened when the buttons on the washer made noise, pressing start after he poured in detergent. Soonyoung watched the load of laundry spinning and getting more and more soapy, pointing through the door and looking at Jihoon with awe.

“Ready for the park?”

That certainly got Soonyoung’s attention, as Jihoon nearly fell backwards with the weight of the excited little. He laughed, setting Soonyoung back on his feet and taking his hand, leading the little back to their bedroom to change.

“Okay, um, what do you want to wear now?”

Jihoon gestured to the (now perfectly in order) closet, letting Soonyoung tug a pastel pink hoodie off of its hanger and picking out a pair of black shorts to go with it. He ushered Soonyoung to the bed, helping the little out of his onesie and into the park clothes. Jihoon played it safe and changed Soonyoung’s diaper before they left, Soonyoung was starting to talk again, so he might have been a little too old, but Jihoon didn’t want any accidents at the park, and Soonyoung didn’t object to the intrusion. 

He found a green ribbon in the bag that Seokmin had left them, a clip on both ends. Soonyoung toddled into the living room, grabbing his paci that was laying on the table and holding it up to one end of the ribbon. Jihoon took the handle of the pacifier, clipping it to the ribbon, then using the other clip to pin it to Soonyoung’s hoodie. Smart. But, Jihoon couldn’t risk anyone seeing that in public. So, he unpinned the ribbon, keeping the pacifier tucked away in his pocket, for emergency use. 

Jihoon brought water for himself, then filled a sippy cup with some for Soonyoung, but then he realized that he really had nowhere to put any of it. He grabbed a backpack, stuffing a bag of blueberries, an extra diaper (god forbid they needed it), the two waters, and Soonyoung’s pacifier inside. Jihoon had to help Soonyoung into his tennis shoes, tying the laces for the little and giving in, pressing a soft kiss to Soonyoung’s cheek before standing.

Soonyoung gripped Jihoon’s hand tightly in his own, excitedly trailing the man to their front door. Jihoon made sure he had his keys, his phone, his wallet (just in case), and then they were off, locking the door behind them as they made their way to the park.

As soon as Soonyoung saw the bright yellow slide from the sidewalk that he and Jihoon were currently walking down, he squealed, pointing at the play structure.

“Side!”

“Side?” Jihoon questioned, groaning when Soonyoung began to run, dragging Jihoon with him. 

Soonyoung stopped beside the slide, jabbing a finger at the neon yellow plastic, “Side.”

“Oh, the slide.” Jihoon laughed, nodding, “Do you want to go on the slide?”

Soonyoung nodded, scrambling up the tiny plastic stairs and running to the top of the slide. He plopped down at the mouth of the slide, “Hoonie! Catch!”

Jihoon moved to kneel by the base of the slide, a foot or so back so that Soonyoung’s abnormally long legs wouldn’t impale him. Only then did Soonyoung finally push off of the sides of the play structure, squealing as he slid right down into Jihoon’s outstretched arms. Jihoon chuckled at the over excited little, squeezing Soonyoung in a tight hug for a moment before letting him go so that he could slide all over again. 

Twenty minutes later and Jihoon was sitting in the exact same spot, a few feet in front of the slide. He had caught Soonyoung at least fifteen times now, and the little demanded a kiss on the nose every single time. JIhoon was just about to let Soonyoung climb out of his lap to go up the slide again when the little gasped, pointing at the swingset across the park.

“Hoonie! Swing!”

Jihoon laughed at the little’s enthusiasm, but was quickly shut up when Soonyoung yanked him to his feet, dragging him over to the swings. Soonyoung stopped beside a baby swing, grinning up expectantly at Jihoon like he was just going to slide right in. Jihoon paused for a moment, then squeezed Soonyoung’s hand, leading him over to the regular swings.

“How about we swing on here for today?”

“No, little swing!”

“Um, Soonyoung, you’re too big.”

Soonyoung frowned, cocking his head slightly to the side, “Too big?”

“Yeah. You don’t fit in there.”

“But…” Soonyoung huffed, “I’m little!”

“You are, just not little enough. You can swing on the big swing though?”

Soonyoung thought for a moment, and JIhoon prayed that a temper tantrum wouldn’t ensue. But, finally the little nodded and crawled up onto the swing, wrapping his hands around the chain and waiting eagerly for Jihoon to push him.

They’d been swinging for barely five minutes before Jihoon felt a tap on his shoulder and his heart leapt into his throat. He spun around, finding Junhui, his classmate, standing behind him and grinning. Minghao, Jun’s partner, was also there, standing behind Jun with a grin on his face.

“ _Jesus_ Jun, you can’t do that to me, I almost sh-”

“Not around the kids!” Jun clamped a hand over Jihoon’s mouth as the man’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Wait wait wait,” Jihoon shoved Junhui away, “Kids? With an S?”

“Well duh, why do you think Minghao and I are here?”

“Wait, so Minghao is a-” Jihoon was cut off by a loud shriek, then Soonyoung was leaping off of his swing and rocketing towards the youngest man present.

“HaoHao!”

Minghao squealed as Soonyoung tackled him, giggling when they both flopped down onto the grass together. Jun smiled adoringly at Minghao, turning to Jihoon a few seconds later.

“They haven’t had a playdate in so long, I’m glad we caught you!”

Jihoon’s head was spinning, the knowledge that both Jun and Minghao knew about Soonyoung being a little before he did shaking him. He was Soonyoung’s _boyfriend_ , why had the man never told him? It was bad enough for Soonyoung to have hid it from him, but now Jihoon was finding out that Seokmin, Junhui, _and_ Minghao knew too? And that Minghao was a little? How come no one had ever told him? Did Soonyoung not trust him? Did Soonyoung think that he was gonna be an asshole about it? Was he too cold? Did he seem like the type of person to reject someone for something as simple as that?

“Jihoon? Hey!” Jun snapped his fingers in front of Jihoon’s face and the shorter man grumbled.

“I’m not a dog, you know.”

“Yeah, I think dogs have longer attention spans than you.” Jun snickered at his own joke but Jihoon stayed silent, staring at the two littles in the grass that were both playing with some dolls that Minghao had brought with him.

“Jihoon, are you okay?”

Jihoon looked away from the scene, nodding, “I’m fine. I’m gonna go get my water, I left it over there.” Jihoon pointed to the bench where their backpack sat, rushing off with his head down.

He grabbed his water, steeling himself and fishing his phone out from his pocket.

_JH: Seokmin, I need to ask you something_

_SM: If you’re about to tell me you don’t know how to change a diaper, I’m going to lose it._

_SM: It’s NOT THAT HARD_

_JH: No, no, not that._

_SM: K, then what?_

_JH: How come you and Minghao and Junhui knew about Soonyoung before I did? I’m dating him ffs_

\--

Soonyoung turned around to show Jihoon the doll that he was playing with but the elder was nowhere to be found and he felt tears sting at his eyes. He stumbled to his feet, dropping the doll into the grass and turning in a clumsy circle, trying to find where Jihoon had gone.

“Soonyoung? Are you okay?”

“Where’s Hoonie?” Soonyoung’s lower lip trembled and Junhui cooed, tugging the little in for a tight hug.

“He just went to go get some water honey, he’s right over there.” Jun pointed to the small shaded bench that Jihoon was sitting on, hunched over his phone. Some water break. 

Soonyoung broke away from the hug, tearily thanking Junhui and toddling off over the grass towards Jihoon. Jun sighed, kneeling down beside Minghao and picking up Soonyoung’s discarded doll. Something was wrong.

\--

_SM: Jihoon, listen, being a little is not really common nor is it welcomed_

_SM: He was just scared that you’d think it was stupid._

_JH: But he’s my boyfriend! I could never think he was stupid._

_JH: Well, not never but, definitely not for just being who he is._

_SM: Nice save_

_JH: I haven’t forgotten the time he brought in an opossum from the dumpster to be our new pet_

_SM: Dogs are expensive_

_JH: Opossums are rabid_

_JH: Anyways, I’m not here to talk about what my boyfriend does that I do consider stupid. I just want to know why he never told me._

_SM: Like I said, he was just worried. And Jun and Minghao only knew because I knew about Minghao, and I set the two of them up on a playdate when Soonyoung was my roommate. It’s not like Soonyoung confided in them privately or anything._

_JH: But no one bothered to tell me that Minghao was a little either. How did you find out?_

_SM: He slipped once when we were working on a project together. Thankfully, I knew what to do bc I was living with Soonyoung, but it wasn’t exactly convenient._

_JH: How did Soonyoung tell you?_

_SM: I got him drunk and then we played truth or dare and I asked him what his biggest secret was :)_

_JH: Welp_

_JH: But like_

_JH: Do I come off as someone who would react badly to that sort of confession?_

_SM: Jihoon_

_SM: Honestly_

_SM: Yes_

_SM: Whenever you’re in the vicinity of a toddler you groan about how annoying they are_

_SM: If I were Soonyoung I wouldn’t tell you either_

_JH: Gee thanks_

_SM: Truth hurts Jihoon_

_SM: But I’m sure that after Soonyoung gets back into his older mindset he’ll recognize that you willingly spent time with him_

_SM: And if you don’t complain to him about how awful it was to change his diaper_

_SM: He’ll probably be a lot more comfortable in terms of little space around you_

_JH: Well it’s not like he can pretend it didn’t happen_

_SM: No, but he might be comfortable enough with you to talk about it when he’s not in little space, and he’ll probably regress more often._

_JH: How often?_

_SM: As often as he needs. When we were living together he did it a lot. Like for a few hours every week at least_

_SM: It just helps him feel better._

_SM: But he’s definitely been repressing it for as long as possible._

_SM: So this stretch is gonna be longer and more intense_

_SM: To make up for what he hasn’t been doing over the past year_

_JH: Jesus_

_JH: Is it really that bad?_

_SM: Don’t take it entirely personally Jihoon, he doesn’t like sharing it. Even if you were the most welcoming person alive he might not have told you._

_JH: That man has a habit of oversharing. I doubt that._

_SM: But oversharing stupid stuff. Not important stuff like this._

_JH: Okay. Thanks Seokmin. I’ll let you know how it goes when he goes back to normal_

_SM: For future reference, don’t use the phrase ‘normal’ to refer to his older mindset. That plays it as a negative thing and he won’t like that._

_JH: Oh_

_JH: Okay ty_

_SM: Np, like you said, let me know how it goes._

_JH: Okay._

\--

“Hoonie?”

Jihoon looked up from his phone to see Soonyoung running towards him, a pout on his face and tears in his eyes. Jihoon braced himself as Soonyoung jumped into his lap, curling up against Jihoon’s chest and sniffling.

“Soonyoung, what’s wrong?”

“You left,” Soonyoung whimpered, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie. Jihoon sighed, pressing a hand to Soonyoung’s cheek and caging the little’s head against Jihoon’s chest.

“Sorry. I just needed some water.”

“Where’s mine?”

Jihoon straightened, turning to grab the backpack and fish Soonyoung’s water out. The little happily took the cup from Jihoon, resting against the man’s chest as he sipped on his water. 

Jihoon watched as Junhui and Minghao played in the grass, zoning out on the two while Soonyoung drank his water. He barely felt Soonyoung move until the little’s knees were digging into his stomach and Soonyoung’s hands were on Jihoon’s cheeks. Jihoon looked at Soonyoung with wide eyes, breathing slightly constricted by the uncomfortable position he was in.

“Why are you sad?”

“Hm?”

“You’re sad. Why are you sad? Did I make you sad? What did I do?” Soonyoung rambled, frowning at Jihoon.

“Um, no, you didn’t do anything.” That wasn’t really a lie. He was more upset about what Soonyoung hadn’t done than what he had. “I’m just tired is all. Do you want to go play with Minghao again?”

“Will you play with us?” Soonyoung wrapped his arms around Jihoon’s neck, pressing his cheek against Jihoon’s and effectively smothering the man.

“Okay, okay, let’s go,” Jihoon pushed at Soonyoung’s hips, freezing slightly when the little pressed a kiss to his cheek. Then and only then did Soonyoung slide off of Jihoon, grabbing the man’s hand and tugging him along to where Junhui and Minghao sat playing with Minghao’s dolls.

Soonyoung eagerly pushed Jihoon to sit in the grass, plopping down in Jihoon’s lap the second the man was on the ground. Jihoon groaned, hands shooting to Soonyoung’s hips as the little adjusted himself. Jun snickered, not bothering to help Jihoon at all with the man’s current predicament. Jihoon finally shoved Soonyoung into a spot in his lap that didn’t physically hurt either of them, using his hands to brace himself on the grass behind him. 

Soonyoung was not having any of it, taking the two dolls that laid out on the grass waiting for them, “Hoonie, play!”

“Jihoon looked pleadingly at Jun for help but the elder offered none, only egging Soonyoung on further, “Yeah _Hoonie_ , play with us.”

Soonyoung nodded at Jun’s words but made no move to free Jihoon so the man grimaced, taking the doll that Soonyoung handed him and awaiting instruction. He didn’t know how to play with Soonyoung. What did the little want him to say? How was he supposed to move the doll? Did he have to make his voice high-pitched? This was what he was apprehensive about. This is why he didn’t like kids.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to do much, Minghao and Soonyoung took over most of the roles while Jun filled in the extras and Jihoon sat wishing that Soonyoung fit better in his lap. Finally, Soonyoung shimmied around in Jihoon’s lap, facing the man as he spoke.

“Hoonie, can HaoHao and Junnie come over to play?”

“Uh, over to our apartment?” Jihoon thought of the markers and crayons strewn about their living room, their bare bed with the stained sheets in the washing machine, the numerous half-drunk bottles scattered around the place, along with at least one pacifier floating around somewhere.

“Yes!”

“Uh,” Jihoon looked at Jun with wide eyes as both men tried figuring out what to do that wouldn’t disappoint both littles.

“How about,” Jun cut in, setting his doll down in the grass, “You two come over to our apartment. Minghao can show you his toys.”

Minghao gasped at this proposition, grinning and clapping, “Yay! You come to my house!”

The four of them stood, the two littles doing so rather shakily, each clutching their caretakers’ hands tightly. Jun gathered all of Minghao’s toys, tucking them all into a backpack that Minghao eagerly slipped onto his shoulders. Soonyoung was perfectly happy to carry his water and Jihoon put his in their bag, slipping it over one shoulder. 

“We just walked, I’m not far from here. Five minutes tops.” Jun gestured to a building not very far from the park, where Jihoon knew Junhui’s apartment was. 

“That’s fine, we walked too.”

The four of them set off, and Jihoon was quickly reminded that he needed to have a firm hold on Soonyoung’s hand or else the little would simply run off. There was a butterfly that they saw about halfway to Jun’s apartment complex, and it nearly had Soonyoung running into the middle of the street to catch it.

But, the four made it unharmed to Jun’s apartment, Soonyoung miraculously not having been hit by any cars on the way.

By just stepping inside their apartment, Jihoon realized that Jun and Minghao had this whole little space thing down way more than he and Soonyoung did. There were child locks on the fridge, Jihoon could see them from the doorway, and there seemed to be more on each cabinet. He didn’t have those for their apartment. Was that bad? Did he need those? 

There was a shelf on Jun’s bookshelf dedicated to children’s books, ranging from board books about farms to a big book of fairy tales, and on the other side of the shelf, there were coloring books and materials stacked up neatly, ready for play. 

There was a bucket of stuffed animals in the corner of the living room, easily accessible, and fabric rather than wire, so that Minghao wouldn’t hurt himself if he fell against it, or hit his hand against it accidentally. Beside the stuffed animal bucket, there was a wooden chest, foam padding lining the corners just in case one of the littles tumbled into them. Jihoon watched as Minghao eagerly raced over to the chest, opening it to reveal a hoard of toys. 

Soonyoung squealed at the sight, dropping Jihoon’s hand and rushing to stand beside Minghao. Together, the littles began pulling out toy after toy, leaving a mess behind them as they worked.

Jun chuckled, kicking off his shoes in the doorway and striding into the living room. Jihoon rushed to follow him, trailing after the man and lingering just behind the couch. His eyes stayed fixed on Soonyoung, a giant grin stretched across his cheeks and excited giggles coming from his mouth as he and Minghao played with the latter’s toys. Soonyoung was currently playing with a model firetruck, crashing it into table legs and running over the doll in Minghao’s hands. Then, of course, the poor injured doll needed an ambulance, and Minghao quickly changed roles, leaving the doll laying under the fire truck on the carpet. Jun pulled his phone out from his pocket, snapping a few quick pictures of the two littles playing on the floor. Jihoon thought about doing the same but before he could his phone was buzzing in his pocket, and he pulled it out to see the pictures forwarded to him in a message from Jun. He thanked Jun quietly, walking around the couch to sit on the cushions, near the two littles.

Soonyoung grinned up at Jihoon for a second before getting right back to his game, leaving Junhui and Jihoon to sit in silence. There was a fond smile on Jun’s face, and a similar one was slowly creeping onto Jihoon’s as well. 

“I haven’t heard about him being little in a while, how long has it been?” Jun tilted his head to the side, glancing back at the two on the floor every few seconds.

Jihoon’s cheeks burned at the question and his mood soured, “A while.”

“Oh, that must be hard on him. Too busy with school?” Jun’s tone wasn’t condescending at all but it made Jihoon want to disappear.

“Something like that. Can I use your bathroom?”

Jun nodded, gesturing behind him towards a door propped open in the hallway. Jihoon stood, swiftly striding to the bathroom and shutting the door, locking it behind him for good measure.

Jihoon braced his palms on the counter, feeling the smooth tile against his skin. He sighed, closing his eyes and trying to fight tears away. He was really bothered by how big of a deal this was to everyone. This was obviously really important to and for Soonyoung, and he felt awful that the man had to repress it because he was scared of what Jihoon would think. Jun had so casually mentioned schoolwork as the cause, and Soonyoung had only been bogged down with schoolwork for less than a month. How would Junhui react if Jihoon told him that it had been a year since Soonyoung had last regressed?

Jihoon didn’t have much time to think about this, create fake scenarios in his head, because he heard a thud, then an ear splitting scream that had him clamping his hands over his ears at first. He fumbled with the bathroom lock, finally tearing the door open and practically sprinting out into the living room to see Junhui, kneeling over Soonyoung’s torso, poking and prodding at something on Soonyoung’s head. 

Jihoon felt his knees sting as they hit the ground when he dropped, but he didn’t care, his stomach churning as he saw blood oozing out of a cut on Soonyoung’s forehead. Jun was speaking lowly to Soonyoung and trying to calm the little down but Soonyoung was having none of it, screaming as loud as was humanly possible.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hihi! I got some feedback on the last chapter that I posted and it made me so happy-  
> I was getting really worried that no one liked this story KJGSGNSFG but I'm glad that some people are enjoying it!! I hope you enjoy this chapter, sorry for leaving Soonyoung bleeding from a head wound for four days :))))  
> Also Soonyoung eats fruit snacks in this and you didn't hear it from me but I really wanted fruit snacks while writing it so i went out and... bought some fruit snacks... and now I have fruit snacks :D

“ _What happened_ ,” Jihoon spat, teeth gritted as he tried getting a better look at the cut.

“He fell into the table. He’s gonna be fine, it just scared him. You stay here, I’ll go get some peroxide and bandages.” Jun didn’t even give Jihoon time to respond before he was down the hallway and to the bathroom and Jihoon was left to sit helplessly beside Soonyoung as the little wailed.

“Soonyoung,” Jihoon tried making his voice as sweet and soft as Jun’s had been, “Soonyoung, it’s okay, please don’t cry.”

These words had little to no effect on Soonyoung who barely peeked through his swollen eyelids at Jihoon before another sob slipped from his lips. Jihoon swore lowly under his breath and he felt a hand tap his shoulder lightly. He turned, seeing Minghao kneeling beside him, eyes full of anxiety.

“Oh, Minghao, um..” Jihoon kept a hand on Soonyoung’s own, making sure that the little knew that he was there and reaching for Minghao with the other hand. Minghao eagerly scooted over to sit right beside Jihoon, hovering over Soonyoung and checking out the wound on his head.

“He’s bleeding…” Minghao whispered, eyes filling with tears as his bottom lip began to wobble. Jihoon was really starting to panic now, he had two crying littles now, one of which was injured. 

“He’s okay, Minghao. He’s just scared.” Jun’s voice made Jihoon jump in surprise but it was a welcome surprise, and Jihoon expectantly reached for the peroxide.

“No, no, you hold him, I’ll clean him up. He’ll probably be more calm if you’re holding him.”

Jihoon struggled to lug Soonyoung off of the floor, his hands wrapping around Soonyoung’s waist as he tried keeping Soonyoung upright. The sobbing little was intent on flopping forwards, though, and made it very hard for Jihoon to hold him. 

“Soonyoung! Soonyoung, sit still, _please_ , come on, we need to get that cut cleaned.”

Soonyoung finally seemed to realize who was holding him and he let out another shaky sob, falling back into Jihoon’s chest and turning to bury his face in the man’s neck. Jihoon tensed, leaning back and prying Soonyoung’s head away from his own, keeping it tilted back against Jihoon’s shoulder. Jihoon felt blood trickling down his own neck and grimaced, hoping that nothing would be stained afterwards.

Junhui spoke once more in that soft, sweet voice, and not once did it falter, even when Soonyoung’s crying got even _louder_ as the peroxide began to sting. Jun worked as fast as he could, finally piling all of the cotton aside as he peeled the wax paper off of the bandage, sticking it gently to Soonyoung’s forehead. 

Jihoon had taken to running a hand through Soonyoung’s hair, half to keep the messy blonde strands out of the cut and half to calm the little down. Both worked fairly well, and Soonyoung was now sniffling weakly, tears still streaking down his cheeks. Minghao could barely wait until Jun was finished cleaning Soonyoung’s cut before he was clamoring into the man’s lap and settling back into his chest, eyes glazed over with unshed tears. 

Jun peered down at the little in his lap, cooing and wiping away a tear that dripped down Minghao’s cheek, “What’s wrong?”

“Soonyoung’s hurt,” Minghao cried, turning to wrap his arms around Jun’s neck and bury his face in the man’s shoulder. Jun hummed, squeezing the little in a tight hug.

“He’s okay. The cut looked bad, there was a lot of blood, but it wasn’t deep at all. It probably hurts, but only for a little bit. Like a shot, you know? Just a little pinch.”

Minghao held his fingers a tiny ways apart, “This little?”

Jun smiled, nodding at the little, “Yeah, just like that. See, he’s feeling a little bit better.”

Now that his head was bandaged, Soonyoung was finally able to bury his face into Jihoon’s chest, though it looked incredibly uncomfortable, having to bend down at quite an extraordinary angle to do so. The little didn’t seem to mind. Jihoon dug the pacifier out of his backpack, this time a pretty lavender color. 

“Soonyoung,” Jihoon mumbled, cheeks heating up at the attention from the other two in the room. Junhui quickly took notice, lifting Minghao into his arms as he stood and taking him to the kitchen, announcing that they’d be getting snacks for everyone.

Jihoon was able to pry Soonyoung’s head out from his chest for the few seconds that he needed to be able to slip the pacifier into his mouth. Soonyoung blinked his eyes open sleepily, letting out a soft whine and curling up further into Jihoon’s lap.

“Soonyoung, are you okay?”

There was no response from the little who kept his face firmly hidden in Jihoon’s chest and the man sighed, cupping Soonyoung’s cheeks in his hands and squishing them gently, “Are you okay? Does it hurt still?”

“No,” Soonyoung sniffled, words slightly muffled by the plastic covering his lips, “ ‘M okay now.”

“Oh good,” Jihoon hummed, pressing a hand to Soonyoung’s cheek and caging the little’s head against his chest again. They sat in silence, Jihoon running his fingers through Soonyoung’s hair and avoiding the bandage on Soonyoung’s forehead as best he could.

Junhui and Minghao came back into the living room after a minute or so of silence, passing a package of fruit snacks to Soonyoung. The little eagerly perked up at this, almost forgetting to take his pacifier out of his mouth before he tried tearing the package open.

Jihoon watched Soonyoung struggle with the plastic packaging, gently taking the snack from Soonyoung and slitting the seam of plastic in half. He shook a few fruit snacks into his hand and offered them to Soonyoung, knowing that Soonyoung often had a habit of cramming way too much food into his mouth even when he was big. He probably shouldn’t let little Soonyoung do the same. 

Jihoon had been correct in his assumptions, as he watched Soonyoung shove all three fruit snacks into his mouth. Three wouldn’t kill him, but a whole pack might. Jihoon kept a tight hold on the package from then on. 

“Soonyoung, are you feeling better?” Jun cooed at the little in Jihoon’s lap who grinned happily, nodding.

“Oh good. We were very worried about you. Do you guys want to stay for dinner?”

It was about five in the afternoon, Jihoon peered up at the clock on the wall. He didn’t want to seem rude, but he didn’t know if he could emotionally handle another two to three hours of being quizzed on Soonyoung’s regression. He’d nearly cried earlier, he wasn’t going to make it all that time. 

“Actually, I bought food specifically for tonight, that I can’t really waste, but maybe next time?” Jihoon hoped that Jun wouldn’t happen to visit the grocery store that they would be going to after this.

“No worries! It happens pretty often, right? Normally, I mean. Like once a week? That’s what I remember Seokmin telling me.”

Jihoon gritted his teeth, “Yeah. Something like that.”

“Perfect! We’ll plan on the next time then, okay?”

“Sounds good. We’d better get going soon, I’ve got to make dinner.”

“Okay. Twenty minutes sound good?”

“That’s fine, yeah.” Jihoon nodded, handing Soonyoung the last two fruit snacks in the package and helped the little hoist himself out of Jihoon’s lap, watching as the two littles got back to playing with the toys strewn about the carpet. 

Jun sighed in exhaustion, leaning forwards to flop his head down onto Jihoon’s shoulder. Jihoon hurriedly shoved Jun off of him, earning a laugh from the man.

“Oh, so you’ll let Soonyoung sit in your lap but I can’t rest my head on your shoulder?”

“You’re not as cute as he is.” Jihoon deadpanned, ignoring the shout of protest from Jun. Soonyoung and Minghao giggled at the argument, though they were soon reimmersed in their pretend world. The twenty minute wait was a long one and Jihoon was only able to escape to the bathroom once, (It would have looked really weird for him to go six times in twenty minutes), but finally he didn’t have to answer any more questions about Soonyoung’s regression. 

Soonyoung was reluctant to leave, and Jihoon thought for a moment that he might be subject to a tantrum, but then he seemed to remember that _Jihoon_ had his pacifiers and his bottles, and there was no more problem. The pair bid goodbye to Junhui and Minghao, Jihoon once again gripping tight to Soonyoung’s hand so that the little didn’t run off.

“Okay Soonyoung, we’re going to the store to get some food for dinner.”

“Okay!” Soonyoung was practically skipping ahead of Jihoon and the man hurried to quicken his pace, keeping pace with Soonyoung so that the little didn’t let go of his hand. Luckily, the grocery store wasn’t too far away from Jun’s house, or Jihoon’s, so they didn’t bother driving, they just walked from Jun’s.

The second they stepped in the door Jihoon knew that he was in trouble. Soonyoung dragged him over to the carts, trying to tug one free from the chain. Jihoon broke one free, gasping and rushing around the other side of the cart when Soonyoung tried climbing in.

“Soonyoung! Soonyoung, no, you’re too big for that.”

“Nuh-uh!”

“Soonyoung,” Jihoon hissed, “Not now. Walk with me, and maybe you can get in the cart later.”

“But-”

“Soonyoung! Just _walk_.”Jihoon snapped, watching as Soonyoung’s eyes widened, then filled with tears.

“Wait, no no no no no, Soonyoung, don’t-”

It was too late.

Soonyoung burst into tears, wailing and letting his knees give out in the middle of the entrance to the store. Jihoon swore, ducking down to catch the man before he could fall to the ground, ignoring the strange looks he was getting from other customers.

“Soonyoung, come with me.” Jihoon spoke lowly, muscles aching as he tried supporting the little. He managed to drag them behind the endcap of an aisle, shielding them from the view of the rest of the store.

Soonyoung’s wails probably didn’t help them hide any better, but there was nothing that Jihoon could do besides shush Soonyoung, sitting back against the shelves behind him and tugging the little into his lap. Soonyoung squirmed, clearly discontent with being held by the person that had just yelled at him.

“Hey! Hey. Soonyoung, it’s okay, you’re okay. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you, it’s okay.” Jihoon finally was able to corral Soonyoung to be still in his lap, shooting sharp glares at any customers trying to come down the aisle. 

Soonyoung didn’t seem to be calming down at all and Jihoon fumbled for the pacifier that was stuffed back into the backpack, coaxing Soonyoung into opening his mouth. The pacifier stopped most of the sobs, but the little still had tears streaming down his cheeks that Jihoon just couldn’t wipe away fast enough. 

“I’m sorry Soonyoung. I didn’t mean to. You can get in the cart, okay? ‘ Doesn’t matter anymore. Do you want to help me pick out some cookies to bake later?”

Jihoon definitely had Soonyoung’s attention with the word ‘cookies’, and the little looked up at Jihoon wearily. 

“Oh, do you want cookies?”

Soonyoung nodded, clumsily wiping his eyes with the backs of his hands. Jihoon gently urged Soonyoung out of his lap, struggling to stand when his legs had almost no feeling in them. He grabbed Soonyoung’s hand, realizing that, to keep the little placated, he’d need to let Soonyoung keep his pacifier in. 

They were going to get a lot of weird looks.

Jihoon led Soonyoung back out to the aisle where they’d left their cart, ignoring the people who stared at his companion. He helped Soonyoung hoist himself into the basket of the cart, praying that the cart could support the little’s weight.

Jihoon struggled to get the cart going down the aisle that he needed it to, finding it incredibly hard to push Soonyoung around the store. He managed to turn himself down the frozen foods aisle, crossing to the other end of the cart to stand beside Soonyoung.

“Soonyoung, do you want some of those?” Jihoon pointed through the glass case at a box of dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets. Soonyoung squealed, nodding and clapping excitedly. Jihoon moved the cart aside to open the door, letting Soonyoung hold the box for himself in the basket of the cart.

Jihoon got the cart moving again, (slowly), and maneuvered it into the next aisle over, seeing shelves upon shelves of premade cookie dough sitting behind the glass. Jihoon knew from experience that Soonyoung, (at least when he was big), liked sugar cookies the best, and he grabbed a bottle of rainbow sprinkles to press into the raw dough before he baked them. 

Soonyoung was busy pointing at the dinosaurs on the box of nuggets and babbling at each one, so Jihoon gently lifted the little’s chin up to look at him.

“You want this one?” Jihoon presented Soonyoung with the package of cookies, and the little gasped, looking up at Jihoon and grinning from behind his pacifier. 

Jihoon chuckled lightly, “Yeah? These ones?”

“Yes!” Soonyoung cheered, pacifier dangerously close to falling out from between his lips. Jihoon let Soonyoung hold the cookies and the sprinkles, keeping one eye on the little to be sure that he didn’t open the bottle. 

They made it to the self checkout line, because they only had three items and Jihoon was not putting up with any judgy stares from the employees. He slipped the food out of Soonyoung’s hands, placating the squirmy little with a soft kiss on the forehead, and kept his eyes down at his hands as he made the transaction, avoiding looking at anyone else around him.

They managed to wheel the cart halfway out the door before Jihoon heard someone whisper to whoever was with them, “Do you think that man is a-”

Jihoon whirled around, cutting the woman off with the fiercest glare he’d ever given anyone. She fell silent with wide eyes, mouth falling shut and silencing the nastiness that was about to fall from her lips. The woman watched Jihoon with horror as he threatened to advance, muscles practically popping out from under his sleeves.

The woman kept her mouth firmly shut and Jihoon somehow managed to get himself back in check, although the idea of releasing the pure rage inside of him was almost too much to resist. He deepened his glare for one last second, then turned back around, cupped Soonyoung's cheek, leaned in to press a kiss to his nose, then hauled the cart out of the store and out to the front of the parking lot. 

Soonyoung giggled at Jihoon, reaching up to press a hand to the man’s cheek. Jihoon smiled softly at Soonyoung, taking the bag from the little and helping Soonyoung climb out of the cart. They set off once again towards home and made it there safely, though by the end of their walk Soonyoung was starting to get a little wobbly on his feet. Jihoon was glad that he’d taken the precaution to put a diaper on the little before they left.

Jihoon was able to set Soonyoung up in the living room with some of the toys that Seokmin had sent, a teddy bear, a little cube that had different shapes and textures on each face, a few teething rings, and a little dollhouse that closed up on itself, holding dolls inside. Soonyoung seemed perfectly content with these toys, presenting each one to Jihoon before the man left to make dinner with wide eyes and a small, hopeful smile on his face. 

Jihoon was finally able to sneak away from Soonyoung after a moment, preheating the oven and reading the back of the chicken nugget box to see how long it would take. He messed around on his phone until the oven was ready, sliding a pan of chicken onto one oven rack and a pan of veggies onto the rack below it. He set individual timers for each, wandering back out into the living room. 

Soonyoung was immersed in his cube, spinning the wheel that was embedded in one of the faces. He didn’t hear Jihoon come in, but when the man sat down beside him he was met with a blinding grin from the little.

Soonyoung offered Jihoon the cube to play with and the man took it hesitantly, turning it to a random face and pressing a button there. It did nothing, only made a satisfying click, but it delighted Soonyoung just the same as if it had handed him a thousand dollars in cash. Jihoon smiled softly at the little’s enthusiasm, grabbing a soft bouncy ball from inside the bag and scooting to sit across the room from Soonyoung.

The little didn’t quite seem to understand what Jihoon was trying to do, following him across the room and kneeling eagerly in front of the man. Jihoon laughed, getting up and herding Soonyoung back over to the corner of the room.

“Stay here, we can play a game.”

Soonyoung pouted slightly when Jihoon went right back to the other side of the room, but stayed put. Jihoon gently rolled the ball over to Soonyoung, watching as the little’s eyes widened when the ball rolled into his lap. 

Jihoon held his hands out expectantly and Soonyoung caught onto their game, flinging the ball back at the man across from him. It stopped halfway across the room but Jihoon didn’t care, scooting over to where the ball laid and rolling it once more to Soonyoung.

They played like this for a while, and while there were quite a few almost broken things, like lamps, tables, chairs, and glasses, nothing ended up shattered on the floor, and for that Jihoon was grateful. Eventually, one of Jihoon’s timers went off and he had to go get the food out of the oven, and he gave in and let Soonyoung toddle after him. He kept the little away from the oven, pulling each pan out from the racks when they were done. Soonyoung’s eyes widened at the sight of their dinner and he smiled, clapping in excitement. Jihoon tried not to smile, and failed miserably.

He sat Soonyoung at the table once more, plating a few dinosaur nuggets on his plate and scooping some of the vegetables on there too. Soonyoung dove for his food, playing with the dinosaurs that weren’t currently in his mouth. Jihoon wondered if Soonyoung would remember everything that had happened while he was in little space tomorrow? If so, he would make himself a different dinner. If not, there was half a pan of dinosaur chicken nuggets in the kitchen waiting to be eaten.

_JH: Seokmin?_

_SM: Yeah?_

_JH: Does Soonyoung remember stuff the next day? Is he gonna remember everything that happened?_

_SM: What did you do…_

_JH: Nothing! Nothing, I’m just curious._

_SM: Seriously what are you doing/planning to do or what have you done???_

_JH: N o t h i n g_

_SM: Then why do you wanna know?_

_JH: Because, I’m just curious! But nvm, I’ll just google it_

_SM: Istg I’m terrified_

_SM: But I also don’t want your search history to suggest to your FBI agent that you’re considering whatever it is that you’re considering_

_SM: So I’ll just tell you_

_SM: He does remember._

_JH: Uh thanks, but, my FBI agent??_

_SM: The FBI Agent assigned to watch your internet footprints :)))_

_JH: I… I don’t think that’s a thing._

_SM: I named mine Claude :)_

_JH: Goodbye Seokmin_


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! omg, the ending!! Thank you to those of you who've been reading this, and I really hope that you've enjoyed this story! I'm thinking of starting a request book for littlespace oneshots, for multiple of the groups that I write for, but we'll see what happens. If you're interested in this, you can let me know in a comment! Thank you for reading <3

Jihoon looked back up from his phone just in time to see Soonyoung come dangerously close to bumping his arm into Jihoon’s drink and knocking it off of the table. Jihoon gasped lightly, grabbing his drink and setting it on the other side of him. Soonyoung let out a soft whine, reaching for the drink with both of his hands.

“Are you thirsty?”

Soonyoung nodded and brightened when Jihoon brought him his water. Jihoon watched as the little continued eating, feeling his stomach contract slightly in hunger. He sat with Soonyoung for almost twenty minutes as the little ate, smiling softly each time Soonyoung picked up a piece of chicken and began to play with it. It was very entertaining. 

Finally Jihoon’s stomach decided to voice its displeasure and the noise made Soonyoung look at Jihoon bewilderedly. Jihoon laughed slightly, wrapping an arm around his stomach as if that would silence its cries.

Soonyoung thought for a moment, then held out one of his chicken nuggets to Jihoon, grinning proudly at his idea. Jihoon floundered slightly at the gesture, but ultimately ended up taking the chicken to satisfy Soonyoung. He thanked the little quietly and Soonyoung seemed content, going right back to eating (playing with his food).

Jihoon abashedly remembered how good the dinosaur chicken nuggets were, hoping against hope that Soonyoung wouldn’t remember this the next morning. He didn’t feel like being teased for the rest of his life. He finally caved, making himself a plate, though he used a knife and fork to regain any sense of dignity he thought he had left. 

Soonyoung finished before Jihoon, peering interestedly over at Jihoon’s plate as if he hadn’t just downed a whole plate of the same thing. Jihoon was barely able to get another bite in before Soonyoung reached for his fork, trying to tug it out of his hands.

“Hey! This is mine,” Jihoon pried the little’s hands off of his utensil, cutting up another dinosaur and gesturing at the vegetables that were still piled on the side of Soonyoung’s plate, “You can have those.”

Soonyoung’s nose scrunched as he stuck his tongue out, “No. Yucky.”

“Well, you have to eat them anyways.”

“No!”

“Soonyoung,” Jihoon squinted at the little, holding eye contact for as long as possible, “I have to eat some too, it’s fair.”

“But _gross_.” Soonyoung huffed, crossing his arms and giving Jihoon a look as if he’d just won that argument.

“Maybe if you actually tried them, they would taste good.”

“No.”

“Come on Soonyoung,” Jihoon was frantically pulling on all of the knowledge that he’d ever come across about children being picky eaters, “How about we eat them together?”

“How?” Soonyoung tilted his head to the side, pout only intensifying.

“I take a bite and you take a bite, at the same time. Sound good?”

“No…” Soonyoung whined, looking like he wanted to face-plant into his vegetables rather than eat them.

“Soonyoung, you can’t have a baba if you don’t eat your vegetables.”

Soonyoung’s eyes grew wide and he stared at Jihoon, mouth agape in shock and what was probably a bit of betrayal. Jihoon seized his chance, stabbing a head of broccoli onto his fork and shoving it into Soonyoung’s open mouth. The little screeched, but didn’t spit the food out, chewing and swallowing as fast as he could.

“See! That didn’t take any time at all. Come on, have some more.”

Soonyoung finally comprehended that he was not going to get out of this one, reluctantly picking up a carrot and stuffing it in his mouth.

Jihoon chuckled, reaching out to poke at Soonyoung’s puffy cheeks. The little squealed, kicking his legs slightly as he fought Jihoon off.

“Okay okay, eat your veggies.” Jihoon finally pulled back, attempting to finish the rest of what was on his plate. Soonyoung finally complied without hesitation, probably finding that they weren’t that bad once he stopped dreading them.

Soonyoung managed to finish his entire plate only moments after Jihoon did the same, and he eagerly reached for Jihoon. Jihoon sighed but heaved Soonyoung out of the chair, somehow managing to hold him and trek into the living room. He tossed Soonyoung on the couch, smiling softly at the shrieks and giggles from the little below him. Jihoon squeezed himself onto the only cushion of the couch that Soonyoung wasn’t sprawled over, cheeks heating up slightly when Soonyoung rushed to sit in his lap.

Jihoon repositioned the two of them, leaning up against the arm of the couch while Soonyoung laid between his legs, head on Jihoon’s chest. Jihoon looked at the clock, seeing that it was almost 7:30. Little Soonyoung was probably not going to stay awake for much longer, nor should he, so Jihoon gently pushed Soonyoung away from him and out of his lap, standing and offering his hand to the little.

“Do you want to help me make some cookies?”

Soonyoung nodded eagerly, letting Jihoon tug him up off of the floor. Jihoon led Soonyoung to the kitchen, preheating the oven, then taking out a cookie sheet and grabbing the premade circles of dough from the fridge. 

“Okay, will you help me spread these out?”

Soonyoung excitedly grabbed a few of the circles, plopping them onto the cookie sheet and turning to grab more. Jihoon quickly spaced them out so that they wouldn’t bake together, taking the rest of the cookies and spreading them out over the sheet. He let Soonyoung finish the pile that he’d grabbed, then took the seal off of the sprinkle bottle and began to decorate them.

Soonyoung’s eyes widened at the colorful sprinkles and he reached out to touch the top of one of the cookies. Jihoon grabbed Soonyoung’s hand, making sure that he didn’t crush any of the cookies, then pouring a few sprinkles into Soonyoung’s palm.

“Try some.”

Soonyoung showed no hesitation before tasting the sprinkles, grinning widely after he finished and reaching for the bottle in Jihoon’s hands. Jihoon laughed, capping the bottle and setting it on the counter, grabbing the tray of cookies and scooting Soonyoung over to the side so that he could open the oven. 

“Stay back, it’s hot.” Jihoon warned Soonyoung over his shoulder, verifying that the little was on the other side of the kitchen before popping the tray in, and shutting the door gently.

“Soonyoung, do you want to watch a movie?”

“Yes!” Soonyoung grabbed Jihoon’s hand, dragging him out and into their bedroom. Jihoon barely managed to keep up with the excited little, stumbling into their room and bracing himself on the door frame.

“Jesus, okay, okay, do you want to get into your pajamas?”

“Mhm!” Soonyoung nodded eagerly, taking hold of the onesie that he’d been wearing earlier and clumsily tugging his hoodie off of his head. Jihoon chuckled as Soonyoung got himself stuck, reaching forward to help the little escape.

Soonyoung was very happy to be back in a onesie, and Jihoon was happy that this was probably the last diaper change that he’d have to go through for the day. He realized that he’d never put any new sheets on the bed, sighing and grabbing a big fluffy blanket to use instead. He was too tired to make the bed.

Soonyoung waited until Jihoon was resting up against the pillows, happily sitting sideways against his chest. Jihoon sighed in contentment, bringing a hand up to brush gently through Soonyoung’s hair while he scrolled through netflix. Jihoon clicked on Toy Story, hoping that any Disney movie would be fine. 

Soonyoung happily took the pacifier that Jihoon handed him, leaning his head once more up against Jihoon’s chest. They sat and watched the movie for about twenty minutes before Jihoon’s timer went off, vibrating his phone in his pocket. He gently pushed Soonyoung to sit on the bed, pressing a kiss to the little’s forehead, then blushing and rushing out to the kitchen.

Jihoon grabbed three cookies, one for him and two for Soonyoung, who he knew would not be satisfied until he had two. He went ahead and prepared a bottle for Soonyoung as well, because he also knew that he was going to be very cozy later and that he was not going to want to get up.

Soonyoung cheered excitedly when Jihoon came back bearing cookies, and the man set the bottle on the nightstand before climbing back into bed, letting Soonyoung get comfortable before he did so himself.

Jihoon was very glad about his decision to keep the bed unmade, because he was pretty sure that at least one whole cookie could be made from all of the crumbs that Soonyoung dropped. He easily brushed them away, sweeping them into a garbage can and glancing at the time. 8:45. He slid back into bed, under the blanket and gently tugged Soonyoung to sit sideways against his chest. He grabbed the bottle from the nightstand, knowing that nothing he said or did could break Soonyoung’s concentration on the movie. 

Jihoon held the bottle up in front of Soonyoung, laughing when the little didn’t even blink. Jihoon held the bottle up to Soonyoung’s lips, smiling softly as Soonyoung finally started drinking. Jihoon turned the volume on the television down, clicking the light on his nightstand off so that the only light in the room was coming from the tv. Soonyoung slowly started to melt further and further into Jihoon, until he was sleepily blinking, eyes closing for longer than they opened. 

Soonyoung’s bottle was almost empty, and he didn’t seem physically capable of holding it anymore, so Jihoon gently took it from him, setting it on the nightstand. He reached behind him, shifting the pillow so that it was laying flat on the bed, pulling Soonyoung to lay with him. Soonyoung complied sleepily, throwing an arm over Jihoon’s stomach and resting his head on Jihoon’s chest. He fought to keep his eyes awake, but finally Toy Story could no longer keep him from dozing off. Jihoon felt his heart swell in his chest as Soonyoung curled around him, latching onto him like a koala. Jihoon usually liked to stay up late, then sleep during the day, but today had been exhausting, and who was he to refuse a few extra hours of sleep anyways?

Jihoon cupped Soonyoung’s slightly flushed cheek, pressing one last kiss to the soft skin before closing his eyes, letting himself finally relax after their chaotic day.

\--

Soonyoung woke up very warm and very cozy. It was nice, but it was wrong. He was supposed to practice for his exam today, he didn’t have very much time left. He felt groggy, like his brain wasn’t fully turned on yet, and there was a weird taste in his mouth.

He glanced sleepily around the room, though all of his relaxed bliss disappeared the moment he saw it. A bottle. His bottle. On Jihoon’s nightstand. Everything came rushing back to him, his meltdowns, his playdate with Minghao, his head hitting the table and gushing blood, and _oh god_ , the diapers. Jihoon had to put him in _diapers_. 

Seokmin was one thing, Soonyoung knew that man didn’t have any ounce of resentment towards him. He was okay around Seokmin. But Jihoon?

Jihoon didn’t like kids. Jihoon hated kids, actually. And now that he knew, he was going to leave Soonyoung. He knew it would happen. He’d been so much trouble, he was surprised that Jihoon put up with him at all. His secret was out, and he felt tears prick at his eyes as he laid in bed with Jihoon beside him. Would this be the last time that he laid next to Jihoon?

Soonyoung didn’t want to see the look on Jihoon’s face when the man told him that they were over. He slowly and quietly, (an amazing feat for him,) rolled over, standing and dressing in the first hoodie that he could find. He shoved a pair of sweatpants on, biting his lip to stop tears from flowing down his cheeks. He made a beeline for the door, and he nearly made it out had it not been for his foot, which caught the edge of the doorframe on the way out. Soonyoung gasped, freezing in his tracks despite the blinding pain in his foot. 

He heard rustling and then a groan come from the bed, then a soft, “Soonyoung?”

Soonyoung stayed silent, drawing in deep breaths to keep himself composed. He opened his mouth, intent on letting Jihoon know that he’d be out of the man’s way soon, but before he could get the words out he felt a light touch on his shoulder.

“Soonyoung, are you okay?”

The tears that Soonyoung had sworn to keep at bay finally surfaced, streaming down his cheeks in glittering rivulets that stained his hoodie. He let out a shaky sob, dropping to his knees and leaning forwards against the doorframe.

“Soonyoung! Soonyoung, what’s wrong?”

Soonyoung felt a tug on his shoulder but he was too upset to fight back, letting Jihoon pull him back to lay against his chest. It felt so nice, but Soonyoung wasn’t stupid, it wouldn’t last.

“Soonyoung, please, tell me what’s wrong, I can’t do anything unless you tell me what I can do.”

Soonyoung managed to pry his eyes open, seeing Jihoon’s worried frown just in front of his face. He sobbed harder, chin dropping to be flush against his chest as he choked out, “I’m _sorry_.”

“What? Why? Did you break something?”

“I broke us,” Soonyoung whisper cracked his own heart in two as he began thinking about what he was going to do without Jihoon. Without his smile, without his teasing, without his nagging, without _him_.

“ _What_? What are you talking about Soonyoung?”

“I ruined us! I’m sorry that you had to take care of me yesterday. I’m sorry that you have to take care of me all the time. I know you don’t want to, I won’t make you do it again. Thank you, for everything,” Soonyoung tried standing while his eyes were cloudy with tears, and it didn’t work very well. He fell right back down, burying his face in his hands and crying.

“Hey! Hey, you didn't ruin anything! Soonyoung,” The man felt a soft tug on his hands, dropping them and letting Jihoon pull his face up to lock eyes, “Soonyoung, how could you have ruined us by being who you are?”

“Because, who I am is _weird_!” Soonyoung’s voice cracked as he tried squirming out of Jihoon’s grip, which only tightened around him as he did so.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!” Jihoon snapped, gripping Soonyoung’s face tighter in his hands and keeping it level with his own.”

“It _means_ , how many other adults have you had to put diapers on, Jihoon?”

“I haven’t ever put a diaper on an adult. Maybe I’ll have to do that for you when we’re all old and grey.”

“But I know you put a diaper on me,” Soonyoung whispered, ashamed of the words flowing out of his mouth.

“But you weren’t an adult. It doesn’t matter to me what age you are, I still love you. In different ways, of course, but love. Listen, I don’t know what you thought I was going to do, but I’m honestly really surprised that you’d think that low of me. I know I’m not…” Jihoon paused, looking down at his lap as he slowly let Soonyoung’s face go, “I know I’m not the nicest. But I would never do something like that. Punish you for who you are.”

“So,” Soonyoung sniffled, wiping furiously at the tears on his face, “So you’re not gonna leave me?”

“No.” Jihoon’s voice was shaky as he replied, throat stinging as he held back his own tears.

“Thank you,” Soonyoung whispered, lunging forwards to wrap Jihoon in the tightest hug possible. Jihoon finally let his own tears fall, mumbling through his sobs that Soonyoung shouldn’t be sorry for anything.

“You know,” Soonyoung wiped his nose on his sleeve, much to Jihoon’s dismay, “It happens a lot. Or, it’s supposed to. I don’t know if you know. I understand if you want me to go somewhere else most of the time. I can visit Seokmin, or Jun and Minghao, or-”

“I know. You can visit them if you’d like, I guess. But I don’t mind taking care of you.”

“You don’t?”

“No. It was fun, and you’re cute.”

Soonyoung blushed, burying his face in Jihoon's neck, “Stop it. I thought you didn’t like kids, anyways.”

“I don’t.” Jihoon brought a hand up to cup Soonyoung’s cheek, tugging the man’s face out of his shoulder, “I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand there's the end!! Please, like I said at the beginning, let me know if you're interested in a one-shots book, for probably seventeen, ateez, and monsta x, and then I'd also love to hear what you thought about the work, and any criticisms that you may have. I want to know what I can do better next time. Thank you so much! <33


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